Dragon Age: Of Glory and Power
by Steffii
Summary: Set in an AU, Elissa Cousland, who recently lost her parents in a tragic event, is sent to Ostagar. When King Cailan survives the horrible battle, Elissa must protect him at all costs for it is he who can reunite Fereldan, after Loghain threatens to tear it apart. Pairing: Elissa Cousland(OC)/King Cailan.
1. Ostagar

Of Glory and Power

**A|N**: My VERY first Dragon Age: Origins fanfic. I really, really hope you guys enjoy it and I encourage you all to buy and play the game, if you have not yet. Also, this takes place in an AU (alternate universe), just like my Sailor Moon fanfic. I have always loved King Cailan, and wondered what it'd be like if he lived. So without further ado, read on and enjoy! Also, a reminder, I will follow the same lines mostly for this chapter and the next, while still having my own original content.

Chapter 1

_"I… I won't survive the standing, I think," my father said to me. All I could do was watch him bleed to death on the larder floor._

_I shook my head, refusing to believe anything he said. He was my father. Teyrn Bryce Cousland "That's not true! You'll be fine!" I cried, kneeling down next to him. My knees were soaked in his blood but I didn't let that detail bother me. _

_"Ah, my darling girl… if only will could make it so…" he replied, his bloodied hand touching my cheek. He pulled it away, grunting in pain. _

And I thought I could take care of myself without his help. How very wrong I was.

I was forced to leave my father and mother in the larder while Howe's men rampaged the entire castle. Duncan invoked the Right of Conscription as I kept refusing to join the Grey Wardens. He said with the Blight underway, he needed recruits. I disagreed. He would not need me. Duncan also disagreed with me. Apparently I had tremendous skill as a rogue. Skill was not what I cared about.

My Mabari hound, Clifford, or Cliff for short, whined. He was probably hungry and needed some food. "Don't worry, boy, it'll be fine." I patted his head. At least Duncan allowed me to take him along.

"I am very sorry you had to leave your parents like that," Duncan said to me, while we travelled to Ostagar. "They would not have forgiven me if you had it your way."

"I just wished I could've apologized to my father for how I acted to him earlier," I said, trying my best not to remember the dreadful argument we had the night before the attack.

"Do this then, for your father as atonement."

Really, I wish I could've agreed with him on that, but I didn't. Was becoming a Grey Warden well worth it? I wanted Arl Howe to get the justice he deserved, not saving Fereldan against darkspawn.

"Where exactly are we going?" I wondered.

"We're going south through the hinterlands to the ruin of Ostagar, on the edges of the Korcari Wilds," Duncan explained. "The Tevinter Imperium built Ostagar long ago to prevent the Wilders from invading the northern lowlands. It's fitting we make our stand here, even if we face a different foe within the forest. The kings forces have clashed with the darkspawn several times but here, is where the bulk of the horde will show itself. There are only a few Grey Wardens within Ferelden at the moment, but all of us are here. The Blight must be stopped here and now. If it spreads to the north, Ferelden will fall."

I blinked at him a couple times, taking all of the information he told me in. Made a lot of sense why the main battle was at Ostagar. Duncan definitely knew a lot about the area. I wondered if perhaps I could ask him more questions. I was so interested because when I was taught about history, my teacher never really mentioned the whole story behind Ostagar.

A day had nearly passed us… and a little too quickly. We arrived in Ostagar's entrance when a young man in golden clad armor approached us. "Ho there, Duncan!" the blonde man said.

Duncan shook the man's hand. "King Cailan?" Duncan said, sounding surprised. My eyes widened. The King?! I thought, my heart beating fast several times, as I tried looking proper. _Damn… _and there I was, the type of person who did not care what I looked like until meeting the King. My jaw dropped. Cailan! My father met with King Maric years ago, before he died. Maric visited us at Highever with Cailan. I was five years old, and he was about ten? Around my brothers age, or perhaps younger. "I didn't expect -"

"A royal welcome?" King Cailan finished. "I was beginning to worry you'd miss all the fun."

"Not if I could help it, your Majesty."

King Cailan smiled, standing beside Duncan. "Then I'll have the might Duncan at my side in battle after all! Glorious!" That was when he turned his gaze towards me. I stood up straight, trying not to linger. "The other Wardens told me you've found a promising recruit. I take it this is she?"

"Allow me to introduce you, your Majesty…"

I bowed my head, but then I remembered how he told Duncan not to be so formal. I stopped, stupidly, then again, realized I had not seen the King as often as Duncan. When I opened my mouth, I stumbled on my own words to cover up my idiocy. "I-I'm E-Elissa-a C-C-Cousland. Don't you remember me?" What a stupid thing to say to a king. Like he would remember me, at least I thought he wouldn't.

Cailan's eyes enlarged. "Elissa? Elissa Cousland? I heard reports you were recruited but I didn't think it was possible!"

"I'm assuming the two of you know each other ?" Duncan questioned, giving the king a confused look.

"Ah, yes. We met as children."

Duncan gave him a simple nod. "I see."

"Your brother has already arrived with Highever's men but we are still awaiting your father."

He didn't know… I allowed my smile to fade. Cailan must've seen it, for his smile faded as well. "He's not coming. He died when our castle was taken. I am sorry."

"Dead?!" King Cailan exclaimed. "What do you mean? Duncan do you know anything about this?"

"Teyrn Cousland and his wife are dead, your Majesty. Arl Howe has shown himself a traitor and overtaken Highever castle," Duncan replied. "Had we not escaped, he would have killed us and told you any story he wished."

Cailan pinched the bridge of his nose. "I… can scarcely believe it! How could he think he would get away with such treachery! As soon as we are done here, I will turn my army north and bring Howe to justice. You have my word."

"What… kind of justice?" I asked, anxiously.

"He will hang. I know that will not bring your family back but Howe will not profit from this," he said. "No doubt you wish to see your brother. Unfortunately, he and his men are scouting in the wilds."

_Those bastards killed his wife and son, Oren, _I thought, remembering the sight of the two corpses on the ground drenched in their own pool of blood. "I am not eager to tell him, your Majesty."

"Of that, I have no doubt. You will see him again once the battle is over, I am certain," King Cailan said. "I apologize, but there is nothing more I can do. All I can suggest is that you vent your grief against the darkspawn for the time being." Indeed, it was not much. Knowing Howe would not get away with murder comforted me a little. "Thank you, your Majesty." When we met for the second time as children, I was ten years old and he, fifteen. I couldn't stop thinking about him and loved every moment of being with him, especially when I got to show off my sword skills. Fergus always teased me about my pathetic crush for years.

He turned to Duncan. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but I should return to my tent. Loghain waits eagerly to bore me with his strategies."

"Your uncle sends his greetings and reminds you that Redcliffe forces could be here in less than a week," Duncan said.

"Ha! Eamon just wants in on the glory. We've won three battles against these monsters and tomorrow should be no different."

"You sound very confident of that," I told the King.

"Over confident, some would say. Right, Duncan?" Cailan started laughing.

"Your majesty, I'm not certain the Blight can be ended quite as… quickly as you might wish." Did that mean there was more to the Blight than a couple of battles? Duncan seemed to know more about it than I originally thought.

"I'm not even sure this is a true Blight. There are plenty of darkspawn on the field, but alas, we've seen no sign of an archdemon."

Duncan and I exchanged glances for a mere second. His gaze returned to the king's. "Disappointed, your Majesty?"

Cailan let out a long sigh. He looked up at the clear blue sky for a moment and after the moment passed, he returned his gaze to Duncan. "I'd hoped for a war like in the tales! A king riding with the fabled grey Wardens against a tainted god! But I suppose this will have to do." _Isn't he a little too old to be excited about fairy tales?_ I thought. "I must go before Loghain sends out a search party. Farewell, Grey Wardens!"

"What the king said is true," Duncan said once the king had left. "They've won several battles against the darkspawn here."

"Yet you don't sound very reassured."

We walked ahead, towards the bridge. "I know there is an archdemon behind this. But I cannot ask the king to act solely on my feeling."

"What would you have him do?"

"Wait for reinforcements. We sent a call out west to the Grey Wardens of Orlais, but it will be many days before they can join us. Our numbers in Ferelden are too few. We must do what we can and look to Teyrn Loghain to make up the difference. To that end, we should proceed with the Joining ritual without delay." I had the feeling the way some people spoke about the King were true. He was a fool, for not listening to Loghain, who most likely had more experience with battle than the King.

I stopped walking with him. "Sorry, you had me at 'ritual'. What do you mean?"

"Every recruit must go through a secret ritual we call the Joining in order to become a Grey Warden. The ritual is brief, but some preparation is required. We must begin soon."

_What about Fergus? He really needs to know about what happened to his family, _I thought. It would kill me to tell him. "I need to find my brother," I said.

"You heard what the king said: he is scouting in the Wilds and beyond contact. Be patient and he will return. Seek out a Grey Warden named Alistair. Once you are finished, return to Grey Warden tent, which is on the other side of this bridge."

_Damn. _"Wonderful," I replied, in a fake happy tone. Duncan knew it too. "Let's get this over with, then."

Duncan and I parted ways, taking Cliff with him.

Ostagar was a perfect place for a battle. Broken pillars with some standing, or barely. A huge tower looked over the entire ruins with pride, making me wonder how much the place went throughout the years. Tons of damage, no doubt. I did not understand why it lasted for so long. If it went through so many battles, I wondered if maybe it should not have been standing.

While trying to search for the Grey Warden, a memory returned to me that I had been trying to subdue ever since leaving Highever. _"Why can't you just see me as an adult?" I asked my father. The night before he was going to war and I could not put down the issue. He wanted me to 'take' care of the castle. That was fine, but I still wanted to fight in the battle. Did he not think I wanted to help Ferelden rid of the darkspawn? I cared as much as anyone else. "Mother can easily take care of the castle."_

_"As true as that is, pup, you're my youngest. What if something happened to both you and Fergus? I can't send my two children into battle," he said._

_I shook my head. "Do you think I am weak because I am a female or is it really because I am your youngest?"  
My father only sighed, shaking his head. "Of course not. I allowed you to train with swords at a young age I wanted you trained so you could defend the castle in case of intruders."_

_"Still not fair."_

_ "I'm sorry you feel that way, Pup, but this is the way it has to be. I just thought you could trust me. I guess not."_

_ Stupid… stupid… stupid! _I thought. I fought the urge to pull my hair out, at how stupid I was during the argument.

While trying to find my way around the Ostagar camp, I stumbled upon an female mage. She was much older than I would've expected. She greeted me with a warm smile, much like my mother's. "Greeting's young lady. You are Duncan's newest recruit, are you not? He's not a man easily impressed. You should be proud," she said, keeping her smile as she spoke me.

I shook her hand. "I'm Elissa. What's your name?"

"Wynne. I'm a mage here. I volunteered as soon as I heard King Cailan needed the help in Ostagar," she said.

"The King seems quite confident we will win the battle."

She raised a gray eyebrow. "Kings are supposed to act confident for their people even in the darkest of times. There is no such thing as being over confident, at least in the King's case."

_That's true, _I thought. Although as children, he acted more like a fool than confident, really. He tried making himself look more important than my brother, and technically, he was. King Maric and my father had to break the two of them up. Anora, who was brought to Highever Castle as Loghain insisted she went along, and I would watch and chuckle at how silly the boys were to fight over something so stupid.

"Well, I best get going," I said to her.

Wynne nodded. "I understand. Maker guide you, Elissa."

Politeness struck me like a rock. "And you as well, Wynne." _What in Maker's name is wrong with me? I understand being polite towards the king, but to a mage of all people? Aren't they susceptible to demons possessing them? _I was also shocked at my own thoughts. What was I thinking? Of course not all mages were like that… Once again, my own rudeness surprised me. My father relished on being polite towards guests, which I followed when I felt like it. If I did not, he would lecture me, even threatening to take away my sword, armor and shield so I could learn manners. Ugh. No wonder we argued so many times before he… No. I do miss my father a lot, more than I could ever believe.

As I tried, again, to find Alistair, I crashed into someone with armor. The stupid idiot made me fall to the ground. My anger got to me first before my reasoning did. "Hey! Mind where you're -" I stopped when I saw the person I bumped into was actually the king. "King Cailan! I… I am so sorry, your Majesty. I didn't think when I said that."

The King practically towered over me with his height, being inches taller than me. "No, it's quite fine," Cailan said, lending me a hand. "Are you all right?" I never noticed before, but he grew into a very handsome young man since I last saw him last. I understood why so many women wanted him. Blue eyes, blonde hair and an amazing build Who would not love that? However, I wondered if there was more to him than just his good looks. Still, Queen Anora was a very lucky woman to be married to someone.

"I'm fine, your Majesty. And again, I am very sorry."

"Don't think anything of it," Cailan said. "Are you lost?"

My face became intensely hot. "Er… um… y-yes. I need to find a Grey Warden named Alistair."

Cailan quickly frowned when I mentioned his name. "Ah, yes. Him. I am not quite sure. Last time I think he was over there." He pointed to the tents nearby an empty ruin part of the Ostagar camp. "Shouldn't be too far off, though. Knowing him… anything might be possible."

"What do you mean?"

He shook his head. "Never mind me. I guess I will see you after your Joining."

My heart beat fast, as I tried to reply as quickly as possible. "Y-Yes. Of course, Your Majesty." He left, while I kept watching him walk away. I turned around, finding Wynne, who probably watched the whole thing, smirking at me. "I see you have a crush on the young king as well?"

I scowled at her. "No… I mean. We saw each other sometimes as children, but not often as you might think. Other than that… No - I-I do not like him."

Wynne added a chuckle as I finished my sentence. "Ha! Your cheeks are rosy, you know. It is not a terrible thing to have a crush on him, young lady. Almost every woman does. Even me." _Isn't she a little too old for him? As in… she could be his grandmother? _I thought, feeling a muscle on my forehead twitch, as I tried annoyingly to persuade her I did not like Cailan like most women do.

"It's hot," I scoffed.

Wynne did not believe me for a second, and I knew why. My reasons were pathetic. "In this weather? I may be old but I am no fool."

"Yeah… I better go… and find Alistair," I mumbled, trying to gain my footing as I left. I heard Wynne laughing softly when I almost tumbled to the ground. _Maker's breath… what's wrong with me today?_ I shot a quick glance over at Cailan who spoke to one of his tenants. Cailan looked back at me, slightly, and winked. _I am Elissa Cousland! I can't be acting like this. Can I?_


	2. The Wilds

** A|N: Cailan does not appear here, but that is only because it wouldn't make senses to put him in here. Anyway. Enjoy the chapter. =]**

I stopped in the small part of the ruins, listening in on an older man and a young man arguing. "What is it now?" an impatient man asked dressed in a mage robe. "Haven't Grey Wardens asked more than enough of the Circle?"

The other man, who was much younger than him, said, "I simply came to deliver a message from the revered mother, ser mage. She desires your presence."

"What her Reverence 'desires' is of no concern to me!" the mage scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I am busy helping the Grey Wardens – by the king's orders, I might add!"

"Should I write a note?" the young man seemed really amused by the mage's annoyance.

The mage snorted. "Tell her I will not be harassed in this manner!" he scoffed.

"Yes, I was harassing **you **by delivering a message."

I held in a chuckle. _I wonder who that is… _I thought.

"Your glibness does you no credit."

"Here I thought we were getting along so well. I was even going to name one of my children after you… the grumpy one."

"Enough!" the mage snapped. "I will speak to the woman if I must! Get out of my way fool!" He stomped off in the opposite direction.

The amusing young man made eye contact with me, and smirked. "You know, one good thing about the Blight is how it brings people together." I could hardly tell if that was sarcasm or not.

"You are a very strange man," I concluded.

"You're not the first woman to tell me that… Wait, we haven't met, have we? I don't suppose you happen to be another mage."

My hands went to my hips. "Would that make your day worse?"

"Hardly. I just like to know my chances of being turned into a toad at any given moment." He looked at me closely. "Wait, I do know who you are. You're Duncan's new recruit, from Highever. I should have recognized you right away. I apologize."

"Don't worry about it," I said, surprised those words left my mouth. Normally, I would've spoken harsh words, and instead, I did the opposite.

Alistair sighed in relief. "Good. You didn't exactly catch me at my finest with the mage there. As the junior member of the order, I'll be accompanying you when you prepare for the Joining."

"Right. Let's get on with it then." I wasn't trying to be rude, really. Feeling enthusiastic for something I never wanted to do in the first place did not sit well with me.

"Eager, are we?" Alistair asked, and added a chuckle. Perhaps he sensed I was not happy and wanted to make me laugh. "Anyhow, whenever you're ready let's head back to Duncan. I imagine he's eager to get things started."

"All right fine." I began walking away from him, noticing he followed me. "You don't have to accompany me, do you?"

"Don't worry; I'll try not to embarrass you."

I stopped, turning around. "I didn't have a choice in the matter to join the Grey Wardens. I didn't even want to but I'm here… apparently."

"You… didn't choose?"

"Duncan invoked the Right of Conscription when I refused."

"I am sure he had his reasons."

Like hell I'd ever believe a word of that. I wanted to save my parents from Howe, not join the Grey Wardens.

"You found Alistair, did you?" Duncan said, once we reached him. "Good. I'll assume you are ready to begin preparations." He added a scowl at Alistair's direction. "Assuming, of course, that you're quite finished riling up mages, Alistair."

Alistair rubbed the back of his head. "What can I say? The revered mother ambushed me. The way she wields guilt they should stick her in the army."

I snorted a laugh. "Interesting."

He gave me the stink eye.

"She forced you to sass the mage, did she? We cannot afford to antagonize anyone, Alistair. We don't need to give anyone more ammunition against us."

"I apologize, Duncan. I'll go collect who we're missing."

While he left, I began thinking about what Fergus was doing. Was he okay? I desperately wanted to let him know what happened. I knew he'd want to get vengeance on Howe for what he did. I could not leave… The king said he would take care of it after the battle.

Alistair returned with two other recruits. One had dark skin, and black hair, like Duncan only looking a bit dirtier and the other a man with little hair on his head, nearly bald indicating he was older than everyone in the party except for Duncan. "This is Ser Jory, a knight from Redcliffe," Alistair said, his hand on the older recruit.

Jory nodded, adding a polite smile. "How do you do?"

"And this," he said, his hand on the darker skinned man's shoulder, "is Daveth… a fellow from Denerim."

"Charmed, m'lady," Daveth said to me.

"I'm Elissa, pleased to meet you both."

Duncan went ahead with the instructions. "Now then, since you are all here, we can begin. You four will be heading into the Korcari Wilds to perform two tasks. The first is to obtain three vials of darkspawn blood, one for each recruit."

The sounded… odd? It was for the ritual, I presumed, and yet, I felt a cold wind against my back. Then I realized, there was no wind, it was me. The thought of getting darkspawn blood sent a shiver down my back. "Surely, you could've acquired some blood before now."

"Of course," Duncan replied. "You must work together to collect the components, however. It's as much a part of the Joining as what comes after."

"And what's the second task?"

"There was once a Grey Warden archive in the wilds, abandoned long ago when we could no longer afford to maintain such remote outposts. It has recently come to our attention that some scrolls have been left behind, magically sealed to protect them. Alistair, I want you to retrieve these scrolls if you can."

"How will we find this archive?"

"It will be an overgrown ruin by now, but the sealed chest should remain intact. Alistair will guide you to the area you need to search."

Alistair rubbed the back of his head, as if confused by Duncan's instructions. "I don't understand… why leave such things in a ruin if they're so valuable?"

"It was assumed we would someday return. A great many things were assumed that have not held true."

"Find the archive, and three vials of blood. Understood," I said.

"The scrolls contain treaties promising support. Treaties that may prove valuable in the days to come. Watch over your charges, Alistair. Return quickly, and safely."

"We will…"

"Then may the Maker watch over your path. I will see you when you return."

How often I recalled being told stories about the Korcari Wilds from Nan, who used to take care of my brother and I before she became a cook. We left Ostagar, after a guard warned us to be careful of the darkspawn. I wondered if perhaps we would find my brother since he was scouting in the Wilds. Then again, what if something bad happened to him, as it did to my parents? I annoyed my brother, and visa versa, but I could not imagine not having him around.

_"You'll be missed, brother."_

_ "If it's any consolation, I'm sure I'll freeze in the southern rain and be completely jealous of you up here, warm and safe."_

How ironic he said that to me.

_Wherever you are, Fergus, I pray you are alive and safe from harm, _I thought, and for the first time, I did miss my brother.

Our duels… I missed them.

"This mist," Alistair noted, as we trekked through the swamp, "does actually feel unnatural."

He was right. The mist was perpetual, very strange even for a legend. "My Nan said, a long time ago, that a great arl ventured into the Wild, killing all of the wolves," I said, noticing how scared Daveth and Jory were. "He also killed many Chasinds. However, a Chasind mother, who found her sons dead from the soldier's blades, became outraged and stabbed her own heart with one of the swords. From her wound, a great mist seeped forth, spreading throughout the Wilds. It was so dense the arl and his soldiers were lost inside forever."

Daveth shook his head; Jory's body began shaking heavily to the point where I started laughing. They were supposed to be Grey Wardens and a simple legend scared them?

"You are a very evil lady," Jory muttered.

My lips slowly turned into a smirk. "So I've been told."

Ironically, we did end up killing wolves. The story freaked Jory a little too much as he wanted to leave and go home. Alistair had to get him to come back by force, reminding him how stupid it would be to leave by himself. "You're _here _now so you might as well stay. Besides, going back by yourself is pure stupidity."

Jory sulked, mumbling something to himself.

"Help… me," I heard a faint voice groan.

I looked down, spotting a man, crawling on the ground. His head slowly gazed up at mine. His armor, and face were covered in blood. I knew instantly he went through something terrible. "Who… is that? Grey… Wardens…?" the injured man said.

"Well, he's not half as dead as he looks, is he?" Alistair muttered.

"My scouting band was attacked by darkspawn. They came out of the ground…. Please, help me! I've got to… return to camp…"

_Scouting?! Fergus! _I thought instantly. "Do you know my brother? Fergus Cousland?!"

"F-Fergus…" the scout man whispered. "I… R-Right. He was leading us. I don't know what happened. By the time I was struck and on the ground, he was gone."

"No…"

"I have bandages in my pack," said Alistair, taking out the bandages, and carefully wrapping them around the scout's wounds.

The injured man groaned, getting up as soon as Alistair finished bandaging him. "Thank you! I…I've got to get out of here!"

"Fergus," I repeated, when the man left.

Alistair's hand touched my shoulder. "Your brother was leading that scouting group? I am really sorry to hear that, Elissa."

"Maybe we can find him," Daveth said. "Once we kill some darkspawn, at least."

"I don't think we have time for that," Alistair replied. "Duncan is waiting for us."

I hated admitting it, but Alistair was right to say what he said. I knew what we had to do, and wasting time by searching for my brother was probably not the right time or place. Korcari Wilds were as dangerous as Nan stated. Fergus would scold me if I disobeyed Duncan on behalf of him. I took my anger out on the darkspawn bastards who tried killing us, and I never thought fighting them would be so difficult. They were cunning during battle, even carrying their own weapons. I wondered if the darkspawn were indeed more intelligent than us.

I found a strange looking flower while were finished killing a group of darkspawn. "A wilds flower?

At one point, as we collected the three vial darkspawn blood, I swore I heard shouting from afar. I was positive it had to be my imagination, until a familiar voice made me jump. _"Elissa…" _I dropped my daggers, falling to my knees. _"Elissa help me."_

"F-Fergus…"

Alistair dropped what he was doing, rushing over to me. "Something wrong?"

"I heard him - I heard my brother!"

He shifted an eyebrow. "You _heard _your brother?"

I waited for a while to answer, then nothing. Only the wind was heard. I shook my head, disappointed and embarrassed by my own dementia.

_Maker's breath. This is a long quest. _And so many darkspawn. They come in an insane amount of numbers. "You're doing pretty well," Alistair said. "It's no wonder Duncan recruited you."

"Thanks…" But the compliment did anything except flatter me. I thought about Fergus' voice calling me before. The more I thought about it, the more tears were trying to leave my eyes. Perhaps he noticed, and didn't want to say anything, but I saw him sneaking a stare at me a few times.

"Is that…" Daveth said, pointing to a bunch of ruins. "The ruins of the tower Duncan was talking about?"

"It may be."

There was a chest there by itself, although it had been through quite a battle considering how rustic it looked. It was even more of a surprise when I did not find anything in there. "Nothing?" I said. "There is nothing. Could someone have stolen them?"

Before Alistair or anyone else replied, a young woman spoke instead. "Well, well. What have we here?" I turn around sharply. Indeed it was a young woman, who wore interesting clothing, shall we say? She wore robes of some sort or perhaps, they were more like rags, as they barely covered her chest. Black-brown hair up in a bun, and a mage staff carried in one hand, indicating she was a mage. She slowly walked down the ruin's steps, studying me the entire time. "Are you a vulture, I wonder? A scavenger poking amidst a corpse whose bones were long since cleaned? Or merely an intruder, come into these darkspawn filled wilds of mine in search of easy prey?" She stopped before me, gazing at me with her yellow eyes. "What say you, hmm? Scavenger or intruder?"

"I am neither. The Grey Wardens once owned this tower."

"'Tis a tower no longer. The wilds have obviously claimed this desecrated corpse. I have watched your progress for some time." She walks passed me, and to the opposite direction. " 'Where do they go' I wondered, "why are they here?' And now you disturb ashes none have touched for so long. Why is that?"

"Don't answer her," Alistair said to me, repulsed by the woman. "She looks Chasind, and that means other may be nearby."

"You fear barbicans will swoop down upon you?" the woman teased.

Alistair rolled his eyes. "Yes, swooping is bad," he replied, as a-matter-of-factly.

"She is a Witch of the Wilds, she is! She'll turn us into toads!" Daveth exclaimed.

"Witch of the Wilds? Such idle fancies, those legends. Have you no minds of your own?" Again, her yellow colored eyes stabbed me. "You there. Women do not frighten like little boys. Tell me your name and I shall tell you mine."

_Fair enough, _I thought. _I am sure if she wanted us dead, we'd be dead already. _"I am Elissa. A pleasure to meet you."

The woman sounded genuinely pleased. "Now that is a proper civil greeting, even here in the Wilds. You may call me Morrigan. Shall I guess your purpose? You sought something in that chest, something that is here no longer?"

"Here no longer? You stole them, didn't you? You're… some kind of… sneaky… witch thief!" Alistair exclaimed.

Morrigan, amused by his response, said, "How very eloquent. How does one steal from dead men?"

"_Quite easily,_ it seems. Those documents are Grey Warden property, and I suggest you return them," Alistair demanded.

"I will not, for twas not I who removed them. Invoke a name that means nothing here any longer if you wish: I am not threatened."

"Then who removed them?" I asked her.

"Twas my mother, in fact."

"Can you take us to her?"

"There is a sensible request. I like you."

"I'd be careful. First, 'I like you', but then 'Zap!' frog time."

"Alistair, I never thought you'd be the supernatural type of guy," I said.

"I listened to too many stories, I suppose."

Daveth absolutely refused to go along with her. "She'll put us all in the pot, she will. Just you watch!"

"If the pots warmer than this forest, it'd be a nice change."

Morrigan ignored every single one of their comments. "Follow me, then," she said, making her way to a path, "if it pleases you."

We followed her to a very small hut. Outside, Morrigan's mother, as I presumed, was standing tending to what was left of a garden. She stopped immediately what she was doing, and greeted us with… a weird smile.

"Greetings, Mother. I bring before you four Grey Wardens who -" Morrigan said.

Her mother cut her off. "I see them, girl. Much as I expected." It amused me that it would only take a couple of glances from Alistair and I to make Daveth and Jory run for the hills. Besides, the woman was strange and I hadn't even told her my name yet.

"Are we supposed to believe you were expecting us?" Alistair wondered.

Morrigan's mother had quite a clever tongue, just like her daughter. It was no shock they were mother and daughter to me. "You are required to do nothing, least of all believe. Shut one's eyes tight, or open one's arms wide… either way, one's a fool!"

"She's a witch, I tell you! We shouldn't be talking to her!" Daveth cried.

"Quiet, Daveth! If she's really a witch, do you want to make her mad?" Jory snapped.

"There's a smart lad. Sadly irrelevant to the large scheme of things, but it is not I who decides. Believe what you will." She stepped forward towards me. "And what of you? Does your woman's mind give you a different viewpoint? Or do you believe as these boys do?"

"I'm no fool, if that's what you're asking," I responded.

She snorted a laugh. "If you must protest so quickly, perhaps I need not ask? So much about you is uncertain… and yet I believe. Do I? Why, it seems I do."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, let's just say, I know some things about you that you don't know about yourself." Not answering my question, but I would take it.

Alistair let out a long lapsed sigh. "So this is the dreaded Witch of the Wilds…"

"Witch of the Wilds, eh? Morrigan must have told you the fancies such tales, though she would never admit it! Oh how she dances under the moon!" She laughed again.

Morrigan's face reddened with embarrassment. As different as the two were from most people, I could tell their relationship was just as every parent and child. My father said such things all the time, especially my mother, who tried setting me up with men I didn't know about. "They did not come to listen to your wild tales, Mother," she reminded her.

"True, they came for their treaties, yes? And before you begin barking, your previous seal wore off long ago. I have protected these." She left for a moment, going into her house and returning with scrolls in her hand.

"You…" Alistair started out, angrily, but his voice softened. "Oh. You protected them?"

"And why not?" She handed the scrolls to me. "Take them back to your Grey Wardens and tell them this Blight's threat is greater than they realize."

"Thank you, for returning them," I said.

"Such manners. Always in the last place you look. Like stockings. Oh do not mind me!" She cackled. "You have what you came for."

"Time for you to go them," Morrigan said.

"Do not be ridiculous, girl. These are your guests," she scolded.

"Oh – very well. I will show you out of the woods. Follow me."

Before leaving the hut, Morrigan's mother placed a hand on my wrist lightly. "I must warn you, the Battle of Ostagar will forever change you."

"How so?" I questioned.

She smiled. "Now, that would be telling. Better if you found out for yourself."


	3. The Joining

A|N: After this chapter, the differences will definitely show. Just a heads up

It was nightfall by the time we returned to Ostagar. I thanked Morrigan once more for showing us back, and she was happy to receive such thanks. Who would've known politeness went such a long way? My parents were right about it.

We were greeted by Duncan at the Grey Warden camp area. The next part… the actual Joining: the Ritual. From the vials of darkspawn blood we collected, we would end up drinking it. I shivered. Disgusting. I believed the _best _part was how we may or may not survive. For me the keyword was _may not. _I did not come all the way to Ostagar, forced to leave my parents, just to do the ritual and die. No way. I knew I had to live… somehow. And if not, at least I would be with my mother and father.

Duncan and Alistair takes us to the old temple ruins, where I first met Alistair. Jory and Daveth complained about the Joining Ritual. Complaining was one thing, but wanting to back out? That was plain cowardice. Even if it did end in their death, at least it was trying.

"The more I hear about this Joining, the less I like it," Jory said.

"Are you blubbering again?" Daveth mocked him.

"Why all these damned tests? Have I not earned my place?"

"Maybe it's tradition. Maybe they're just trying to annoy you."

I smacked my own forehead at their childish quarrel. At least they had a choice in the matter. I did not, although if the circumstances had been different perhaps Duncan would not invoked the Right of Conscription for me. "I swear I'm the bravest one here, and I'm a woman."

Jory lowered his eyes to his feet, trying to shed off his cowardly face. "I only know that my wife is in Highever with a child on the way. If they had warned me… it just doesn't seem fair."

_That makes sense. I can understand why he doesn't want to join the Wardens. Even if he survives, he will not be able to see them often, if at all, _I thought. At least, he had someone to fight for. I didn't have anyone.

"Would you have come if they'd warned you? Maybe that's why they don't. The Wardens do what they must, right?"

"Including sacrificing us?"  
"I'd sacrifice a lot more if I knew it would end the Blight."

Like a thin string, my patience snapped. "Will you both just shut up?" I snapped at the both of them, causing Jory to jump a little bit.

"Yeah, ser knight, try not to wet your trousers until the ritual starts," Daveth teased.

"I've just never faced a foe I could not engage with my blade."

"How cocky of you," I muttered. "Then perhaps you should do this for your wife and to-be born child. If you are so 'strong' as you say you are, then you shouldn't be scared of something like this."

Daveth smirked, pushing Jory back. "Exactly. Listen to her. Or maybe, you're just a coward?"

Jory was about to take out his blade when I stepped in between them, pushing them both to the side. "Quit it."

Before another fight ignited, Duncan returned to us, finally. "At last we come to the Joining. The Grey Wardens were founded during the first Blight, when humanity stood on the verge of annihilation. So it was that the first Grey Wardens drank of darkspawn blood and mastered their taint."

"We're… going to drink the blood of those…" Ser Jory said in horror, "those creatures?"

"As the first Grey Wardens did before us, as we did before you. This is the source of our power and our victory. Those who survive the Joining become immune to the taint. We can sense it in the darkspawn and use it to slay the archdemon. We speak only a few words prior to the Joining, but these words have been said since the first." Duncan turned his head to Alistair. "Alistair, if you would."

Alistair slightly bowed his head. "Join us, brothers and sisters. Join us in the shadows where we stand vigilant. Join us as we carry the duty that can not be forsworn. And should you perish, know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten. And that one day we shall join you."

"Daveth, step forward," Duncan said, holding a large white cup in his hand.

Daveth immediately took the white cup, and drank from it. Almost right away, he grabbed his own head, as if he wanted to pull it off. He screamed and then fainted. Duncan and Alistair studied him. Daveth did not open his eyes, but did not appear to have failed the Joining.

"Step forward, Jory," Duncan said.

Jory stepped back instead, drawing his sword. "But… I have a wife. A child! Had I known…"

"There is no turning back." Duncan drew his sword as well.

"No! You ask too much. There is no glory in this!"

The two broke out into a fight with their swords, a very short lived one, for Duncan stabbed Jory in the stomach. "I am sorry," Duncan said, pulling the sword out of Jory, and watched him fall to the ground with blood around him.

It was my turn.

The cup was so heavy… I hardly got a sip out of it. When I did, there was a strange feeling in my body, erupting into severe pain. The taste, so dreadful, made my throat tighten until I felt like throwing up. I saw a dragon flying in the sky, and as it looked straight at me, fire came out of its mouth. I finally collapsed to the ground, trying to grasp for air, and then everything went black straight after. _I can't die. _

_ You have to wake up._

_ Wake up._

_ WAKE UP._

I did wake up. A hand was stretched out for me to take. Duncan. I accepted, and he pulled me back up. I looked around to see if there was a dragon, and I did not find one. _A dream? _"It is finished," Duncan said. "Welcome."

"I… made it? How long was I out?" I asked, rubbing the back of my aching head. I shook my head to try and rid of the dizziness to no avail.

"Ten minutes tops," Alistair replied. "Daveth here woke up a minute before you did."

"Did you see the image of a dragon as well?" Daveth wondered. I hesitantly nodded. _Then I was not the only one to have seen that dragon, or have a dream of it. Does that… always happen, I wonder? _

"How do you feel?" Duncan asked me.

"I still can't believe you killed Ser Jory," I muttered, grabbing my aching head.

"Jory was warned that there was no turning back, as were you all. When he went for his blade, however, he left me no choice," he responded in a calm voice, although I sensed some regret. "It brought me no pleasure to end his life. The Blight demands sacrifices from us all. Thankfully, you stand here as proof they are not all made in vain."

"And what about the dream I had?"

"Such dreams come when you begin to sense the darkspawn, as we all do. That and many other things can be explained in the months to come."

_That was awful, _I thought. And to think, more of those dreams were to come.

"Take some time. When you are ready, I'd like you to accompany me to a meeting with the king."

"What kind of meeting?"

"The king is discussing strategy for the upcoming battle. I am not sure why he has requested your presence."

Alistair crossed his arms. "Okay I can get why he would not want me to attend the meeting, but why not Daveth as well?"

Daveth shrugged. "I don't really care. This whole thing… is taking its toll on me already."

"The meeting is to the west, down the stairs. Please attend as soon as you are able."

As Duncan left, Alistair smirked at me and said, "If the king wants to see you and Duncan, you probably shouldn't keep him waiting. He might get mad, start crying, you'll feel bad and… well, it won't be pretty."

"He can't always be like that."

"You're defending him… because…?"

I wished to smack him for even suggesting anything. I kept my cool, ignored him, and followed Duncan down the steps where the meeting was being held. Cailan was beside his General, Loghain, and a very long table with a map of Ostagar on it. Two mages stood at the far end of the table, with Duncan on the opposite side. I joined Duncan, watching the king shouting at Loghain.

"Loghain, my decision is final. I will stand by the Grey Wardens in this assault," Cailan snapped.

Loghain shook his head, like a parent would to a child. "You risk too much, Cailan! The darkspawn horde is too dangerous for you to be playing hero on the front lines."

"If that's the case, perhaps we should wait for the Orlesian forces to join us, after all."

"I must repeat my protest to your fool notion that we need the Orlesians to defend ourselves!" the general barked.

"It's not a 'fool notion'. Our arguments with the Orlesians are a thing of the past… and you will remember who is king."

"How fortunate Maric did not live to see his son ready to hand Fereldan over to those who enslaved us for a century!"

"Then our current forces will have to suffice, won't they?" He turned to Duncan and I. "Duncan, are your men ready for battle?"

He nodded. "They are, your Majesty."

Cailan lifted a golden blonde haired eyebrow, giving me a charming smile. "And this is the lady from Highever I met earlier? I understand congratulations are in order."

It hit me. I was officially a Grey Warden, yet I did not feel any different let alone any better. "I don't feel that special."

"Oh, but you are. Every Grey Warden is needed now more than ever."

My cheeks became hot, despite the weather being quite cold. I may not have felt better about my situation, however, the fact Cailan said I was special forced a smile upon my face. Loghain, the wretched general he was, interrupted. "Your fasincation with glory and legends will be your undoing, Cailan. We must attend reality."

The king gave up, raising his hands to surrender to his general. "Fine," Cailan muttered, exasperated. He laid his hands on the map rolled out over the table. "Speak your strategy. The Grey Wardens and I draw the darkspawn into charging our lines, and then…?"

The general circled the faint image of the tower on the map with his finger. "You will alert the tower to light the beacon, signaling my men to charge from cover," Loghain replied.

Cailan nodded. "To flank the darkspawn, I remember." He traced his finger, outlining the map of the battle field. He pointed to the Tower of Ishal. "This is the Tower of Ishal in the ruins, yes? Who shall light this beacon?"

"I have a few men stationed there. It's not a dangerous task, but it is vital."

"Then we should send our best. I assume more than one Grey Warden survived the Joining, yes?"

"Yes, your Majesty. One other, Daveth, survived," Duncan said.

"Then send him and Alistair to make sure it's done. I would like Elissa to join me on the battlefield along with you, Duncan."

I gaped at him, with an open mouth. Duncan and I exchanged glances, both hardly understanding the king's plan. He wanted me in battle? But why…? He never saw me fight! What if I failed? "I'll… d-do my best your Majesty."

"You rely on these Grey Wardens too much. Is that truly wise?" Loghain, again, shook his head as if he were disappointed. The man obviously did not have one ounce of faith put in Cailan.

"Enough of your conspiracy theories, Loghain. Grey Wardens battle the Blight, no matter where they're from," Cailan argued.

"Your Majesty, you should consider the possibility of the archdemon appearing," Duncan reminded.

"There have been no signs of any dragons in the Wilds," Loghain stated.

"Isn't that what your men are here for, Duncan?"

"I… yes, your Majesty."

"If it is not a problem, I would like to speak with the new Grey Warden in private, just before we head into battle."

Loghain grumbled, and walked away. The two mages and Duncan left the perimeter, leaving Cailan and I alone to speak with one another. Cailan took my hand, squeezing it in between his two hands. They were so warm, despite the malicious cold weather. "I wanted to say, I am sorry you could not find your brother, Warden. Your brother and I may have had our differences in the past, but I never hated him."

I tried not staring into his blue eyes, as I wanted to avoid the embarrassment of the stupid look on my face. "He never hated you either, I'm sure," I replied. "But why choose me for the battle? Why not send me with Alistair?"

His hands, still on mine, squeezed it. "I have faith they will be fine. I am not trying to put your life on the line, but it seems I don't really have a choice in the matter." He sighed, brushing a hand through his blonde hair. "I've seen you fight."

"At the… age of ten, your Majesty."

"You beat your brother who was eight years older than you at least. I remember. I have good faith in you, Warden."

"T-Thank you."

Cailan let go of my hand, instead placing it on my shoulders, and looked at me closely with his two eyes. I wanted to tear my face away from his gaze but something stopped me. I continued to stare at him straight back, not moving or even blushing. "You definitely have the same courage your father has. I can see it. And that is what I need, a strong warrior fighting by my side. Good luck on the battle field, Elissa. May the Maker watch over you."

"And with you as well, your Majesty."

_I can't die, I can't die, I can't die. _The three words rang inside my mind like a prayer from the Chantry. I did not know why I thought that, but I wanted to see myself live through it, and perhaps see Cailan again. Was I selfish? Probably. The childhood crush I thought disappeared years ago had unfortunately resurfaced and I hated it. Yet here I was trying to think of ways to survive should I need to.

The cold rain pelted against my armor, as I stared out into the Korcari Wilds, with all the other men and women. I wiped a piece of my red hair from my face, trying to look over the person in front of me. Thunder roared as the rain grew heavier. It was almost like the Maker was crying because he knew something bad was about to happen. My throat tightened, as I tried remembering my goals.

The battlefield just below Ostagar ruins were surrounded by frightened men and women in armour, who knew losing would cost more than just their lives. I spotted one scared young soldier backed up until hitting someone from behind. The young soldier jumped. The fellow he bumped into comforted him by placing both hands on either side of the scared solder's shoulders.

King Cailan and Duncan walked down the eternal rows of soldiers waiting for the call. Duncan, after a brief conversation with the king, stood beside me, his daggers in both hands. Cailan had a single sword, and a very nice on I should say. As for me, I had bow and arrows for long ranged attack and my two daggers for melee combat. While good at both skills, I thought of myself as more of a melee person for when I shot with a bow and arrow, I would shake, trying to keep the bow steady. _"Don't think, just shoot," _my father told me once at archery practice_. "Rogues must be skilled in both areas… Unless you want to be a warrior instead."_ He lectured me about every time I practiced. 'Keep your elbows straight, blah, blah, blah'. Then again, I soon regretted the ill thought about it. I would give anything to have my father teach me archery.

And there they were, the darkspawn. There was an army of them marching towards us, and quickly.

"Archers!" Cailan called.

The archers, with flames at the tips of the arrows, were shot in the air, hitting the incoming darkspawn. "Hounds!" he called out again. The mabari hounds were let loose, which did as much damage as the arrows did. "For Fereldan!" the king shouted, and everyone raced to the darkspawn rush.

Almost instantly, a dozen of darkspawn, as well as the Ostagar army, were slaughtered but tons more were still fighting and killing. My anger got the best of me when I beheaded a hurlok, as a flashback of my father on the ground in his own pool of blood made way to my mind. "_I love you, my darling girl. You know that, don't you?_" my mother said to me. I was about to speak to Fergus about my father's plans, when her words stopped me from fighting anymore. _Mother… _

"Elissa!" Duncan shouted. "Look –"

I blinked. A loud roar of darkspawn were headed my way. One of them charged at me, sending me to the ground. My daggers dropped from my hands, far away from my grasp. I crawled on the cold dirt, trying to reach for them when a gunlock stopped me. Its foot crushed my hand to the point where it would break if any more pressure was on it. The gunlock chuckled, like it enjoyed seeing me in pain. I kicked it away with my foot.

Duncan stabbed the gunlock with his daggers, helping me up.

The beacon was lit seconds later. I was overjoyed to know Alistair and Daveth made it.

As I finished off a Hurlock, I began hearing whispers. The same whispers from the dream after my Joining. I looked over at Duncan, who seemed to hear the same thing. Before he said anything, an ogre charged at us, knocking Duncan out of the way. Cailan was too close to it, trying to hit the ogre with his sword and to no avail, grabbed by the ogre. My eyes widened in horror. _Not the king. No._

I could not use my melee weapons to kill the ogre. My bow and arrows would have to do. Making haste, I set the arrow on the string, aiming for the ogre. I had no time to think where. I needed to distract it. The ogre roared as the arrow hit it in the arm. Another hit him in the chest, but not close enough to kill. It dropped Cailan, heading over to me. The ogre simply swept me aside as if I were nothing. Duncan, who was on the ground still alive, said to me, "Elissa. Take the king. And get out of here."

"But Loghain's men -" I cried

"Are not coming," he finished. "It's been too long after the beacon lit, and there is still no sign."

_Why would he do something like this? He's the king's most trusted general! _I thought. I did as Duncan said, knowing conversation would not do us any good. I ran over to Cailan, who was conscious, but barely alive. I got him up to his feet, my arms around his shoulders as support. There was a passage from the battle field to the Tower of Ishal somewhere, and that would be our way out. And not before long, we were surrounded by darkspawn. _No. No. No! I have to - _

The moment I hit the ground from an explosion knocking me over, I went unconscious. The last thing before my eyes closed was a dragon in the sky, breathing fire on the darkspawn horde.


	4. Aftermass

**A|N:** Please review! It would be very much appreciate =D

With an even worse headache than I had in the Joining, my eyes fluttered open. The room around me was quite unfamiliar. I was lying on a strange bed, and beside me. My jaw dropped… King Cailan?! He wore nothing except... I fell over. The loud thump caused someone to open the door from outside and peer through. "Ah, so you've finally woke up. Mother shall be pleased," a female voice said. Morrigan!

I rubbed my head, getting up from the floor. I didn't realize I had hardly any clothes on either. "W-What happened? Where am I?" I looked over at the unconscious King Cailan on the bed.

"How does your memory fare? Do you remember Mother's rescue?"

_Rescue? She rescued me? But before going unconscious, I saw a dragon. Unless, she saved me afterwards. _"I remember being overwhelmed by darkspawn. But how did your mother…"

"Mother managed to save you, the king and two of your other friends, thought twas a close call. What is important is that you are all alive. The man who was to respond to the signal quit the field. The darkspawn won your battle," Morrigan said. "Those he abandoned were massacred save for your king. Your friends are not taking it well."

Suddenly, it became chilly in the house. Loghain abandoned us? Why? He agreed that when the Beacon lit, his men would join the battle. I slammed my hand on the wall closest to me. "So he left us for dead," I said, shaking my head. Betrayal seemed to follow me wherever I went. "And what of Duncan?"

She averted a gaze away from me, and it came clear to me she did not enjoy telling me anymore than I did hearing it. "He's most likely dead," Morrigan replied. "One of your friends… has veered between denial and grief since Mother told him."

_ "__Elissa. Take the king. And get out of here."_

_ "__But Loghain's men -" _

_ "__Are not coming. It's been too long after the beacon lit, and there is still no sign."_

"They're outside by the fire. Mother asked to see you when you awoke."

I staggered over to the king, who looked quite peaceful even in his current state. "What about the king? Is he going to be okay?"

"His injuries were serious but not life threatening. I saw what you did in the battle. You saved the king from the ogre."

My hands shook. Duncan… dead. The army, slaughtered and the darkspawn won the battle? That was not the plan. "Will… will he wake up soon?" King Cailan had said he knew they would win, yet here we were in Morrigan's mother's hut, and he was on the bed unconscious. Morrigan felt his forehead with the back of her palm. She then took a cold wet cloth, placing it on his forehead.

"Hopefully the fever will die down."

I had no choice, but to accept what she told me. Managing a slight smile, I said to her before leaving, "Thank you helping me, Morrigan."

As if she was not used to it, she almost appeared troubled by my thanks. "I… you are welcome, though Mother did most of the work. I am no healer."

Outside, Alistair was staring out into the korcari wilds. Daveth was beside him but said nothing to him. "See?" Here is your fellow Grey Warden. You worry too much, young man," Morrigan's mother said. Alistair turned around, and breathed out heavily once he saw me. Daveth gave me a small smile. I was also relieved to see they were both all right, with minor injuries.

He looked like he was about to cry. "You…" Alistair began softly. It was hard to see him so serious considering all the jokes he used to crack. "You're alive! I thought you were dead for sure."

"I'm not, thanks to Morrigan's mother."

He rubbed his temples. "This doesn't seem real. If it weren't for Morrigan's mother, we'd be dead ontop of that tower. And you… you would've perished along with the king. I am so grateful you're both alive but also…" His eyed the ground, not muttering another word.

"Duncan…" I finished for him. "I am sorry for his loss, Alistair. I really am. If it makes things easier, he helped me save the king."

"That isn't a surprise. Good to know."

"The tower," Daveth said, visibly shaken by the experience, "was full of darkspawn, an unexpected surprise for us. I had believed they would've swarmed us. I… don't even want to think about what the darkspawn would do to us."

Alistair's left eye started twitching. "Please stop… I don't want to know about what they would do to us if they did get to us before Morrigan's mother did."

Daveth lowered his head apologetically. "Sorry."

"Do not talk about me as if I am not present," Morrigan's mother said.

"I didn't mean…" Alistair started out as if to apologize, "but what do we call you? You never told us your name."

"Names are pretty, but useless. The Chasin folk call me Flemeth. I suppose it will do," the old woman replied.

"Flemeth?" Daveth and I both chimed in, though he looked more surprised than I did.

"The Flemeth from the legends? Daveth was right right - you're the Witch of the Wilds, aren't you?" Alistair asked.

"And what does that mean? I know a bit of magic, and it has served you both well, has it not?"

The old woman seemed as if she would run out of patience at any given moment. "I suppose we should thank you… since you risked your life for us and for the king's as well."

"If you know what is good for you, I suppose you should!"

I crossed my arms, vigilantly watching her. If the woman was Flemeth as Daveth stated she would never have done such a thing without a good reason behind it. "So why did you save us?"

Flemeth cackled. "Well, we cannot have all the Grey Wardens dying at once, can we? Someone has to deal with these darkspawn?"

"Why did you save the king?"

"He was unconscious when I found you both. Letting him die would be such a waist. Perhaps, in another world, he would have actually died if you had not been on the battle field." She let out another one of her loud and creepy cackles. "It has always been the Grey Warden's duty to unite the lands against the Blight. Or did that change when I wasn't looking?"

Stunned she would even ask such a question, I blurted out, "Of course not!"

"But we were fighting the darkspawn!" Alistair exclaimed. "The king had nearly defeated them! Why would Loghain do this?"

A piece of Flemeth's gray hair fell into her eyes. "Now that is a good question. Men's hearts hold shadows darker than any tainted creature. Perhaps he believes the Blight is an army he can outmaneuver. Perhaps he does not see that the evil behind it is a true threat."

"The archdemon," Alistair muttered, shaking his head like he couldn't believe it. Neither could I. Cailan almost died because of Loghain's actions and most of the soldiers were slaughtered.

Daveth stirred, keeping quiet, no longer frightened by such names anymore. I believed the Joining and the battle have hardened him quite a bit, but he had much to prove before I really started thinking that. "What is this archdemon, exactly? I remember Duncan mentioning it to Cailan," I said. The king was disappointed apparently that there were no signs of one as of yet.

"It is said that, long ago, the Maker sent the Old Gods of the ancient Tevinter Imperium to slumber in prisons deep beneath the surface. An archdemon is an Old God awakened and tainted by darkspawn. Believe that or not, history says it's a fearsome and immortal thing. And only fools ignore history."

I kicked the closest thing to me: a rock. And it hurt. A lot. Flemeth smirked in amusement. "I do not think kicking a rock will do you much, girl. Alistair has already learned that lessons haven't you?"

Alistair sighed. "Sadly, yes."

"Everything is so… confusing!" I exclaimed. "We joined the Grey Wardens and then this happens? Why? We could have won that battle!"

"Do not go back on the past. What could've been did not happen," Flemeth replied. "Be thankful your king lived. He may be able to help you unite Fereldan."

"If Arl Eamon knew what he did, he would never stand for it! The Landsmeet would never stand for it! There would be civil war!"

Arl Eamon…? My father mentioned that name a lot when I was growing up. "Arl Eamon? The arl of Redcliffe?" I asked Alistair, who nodded.

"I suppose… Arl Eamon wasn't at Ostagar: He still had all his men. And he's Cailan's uncle.I know him. He's a good man, respected in the Landsmeet." He paused to contemplate the next set of words and his face suddenly brightened. "Of course! We could go to Redcliffe and appear to him for help!"

"You know, that does sound like an excellent idea. What do you think Daveth?"

Daveth shrugged. "I… Why include me?"

I crossed my arms. "You're a Grey Warden, too."

"Yes, you fought bravely like everyone else," Alistair said. "And we need a third opinion."

"All right. I think it is a reasonable idea," Daveth said, scratching his head.

"You have more at your disposal than merely old friends," Flemth said.

Alistair snapped his fingers. "Of course! The treaties! Grey Wardens can demand aid from dwarves, elves, mages and other places! They're obligated to help us during a Blight!"  
"I may be old, but dwarves, elves, mages, this Arl Eamon, and who knows what else… this sounds like an army to me."

He looked at me with the brightness still on his face. "So can we do this? Go to Redcliffe and these other places… and build an army?"

"Why not? Isn't that what Grey Wardens do? But what about the King?"

"I don't know if he is well enough to come along. We shall see, I suppose. If he is fine, then he can come."

"So you are set, then? Ready to be Grey Wardens?" Flemeth asked us.

I nodded. "Yes. Thank you for everything, Flemeth."

She shook her head, opposing my thanks. "No, no, thank you. You are the Grey Wardens here, not I. Now… before you go, there is yet one more thing I can offer you."

Before she could tell us what she wanted to offer us, Morrigan came out of the hut. "The stew is bubbling, Mother dear. Shall we have two guests for the eve or none?" She smiled at me.

"The Grey Wardens are leaving shortly, girl," Flemeth told her, "and you will be joining them."

"Such a shame…" Morrigan said, then she realized what her mother had said. "What?"

Flemeth laughed. "You heard me, girl. The last time I looked, you had ears!"

Alistair slapped his own forehead, while Daveth tried not appearing disturbed. I know Alistair and Morrigan did not exactly get along with each other. Their first meeting was proof of that. I imagined them arguing none stop on our journey, probably giving me a really bad headache.

After a bit of arguing with her mother, Morrigan finally agreed to join us. But before we had to leave, she told us Cailan had awakened. "He's definitely delirious," Morrigan said. "He has no remembrance of what happened during the battle or he is trying to deny the loss of Ostagar. Either way, I think you need to see him and tell him the truth."

Alistair sighed. "I don't think I should be the one to do that."

"Why?" I asked him.

"Well, you see. Cailan and I… never really got along. And if what I heard about you knowing the king from when he was a child is true, then you should be the one to tell him."

I grumbled at the idea as I was barely able to speak to him myself. Not like I had a choice in the matter. It was probably better I told him anyway. "Right. I'll go see him now," I said.

I entered the hut to find Cailan on the bed, rubbing his forehead. It took him a while, but he finally noticed me standing there. "Elissa… you're alive," he said. "Tell me, what happened? I don't remember much."

"The battle was… lost, your Majesty. You were taken by an ogre and nearly crushed to death if I had not attacked it," I said.

"Oh? So that's why I was dropped… and why my head hurts so much. I could have died, but you saved me. What about Duncan? I must see him -"

"No… your Majesty… he is gone. He died."

"What?" he whispered. I didn't answer him. "Wasn't Loghain supposed to send his men in when the beacon was lit? Was it even lit in the first place?"

"It was lit," I replied. I stumbled with the second bit of news, one he would not take so lightly. "Loghain did not send in his men. I heard he quit the battlefield once the beacon was lit."

Cailan just shook his head over and over. "No! Loghain wouldn't… He and I had our differences and disagreed on many things but he would never ever…" He stopped, trying to say the word 'betray' which he could not and continued with his sentence instead. "… Loghain was a good friend of my father's, someone he deeply trusted and Anora's father. No. It can't be possible. Alistair and Daveth must not have done their jobs."

"No!" I shouted, suddenly. It was too late to stop the tone of my voice. "Sorry… I mean, they did. I saw it with my own eyes. He was willing to sacrifice you too, and probably try to take over or at least have Anora take over."

"But… why," Cailan muttered, his hand clamped over his eyes.

"I-I don't know, your Majesty."

"I trusted him."

"You did, but that's not your fault."

"What kind of a king am I? I sent our soldiers to their death to a battle that was lost." I was unable to comfort him, or say anything that might have helped him. The news was fresh in his mind. I had to give him more time to think. He shook his head, getting up from the bed. "I'll come out. Just leave me for now."

Nodding rather than speaking, I left the hut, but not without looking back one more time to see if he was truly all right. Cailan, back on the side of the bed, lifted his head from the ground, spotting my gaze. I turned away, my hand on the door about to leave. He looked like his mouth was about to open, then he closed it and looked away from me. I left the hut, truly unsurprised by Cailan's anger towards everything. Alistair acted the same way.

And then came along the load of questions.

"So?" Alistair said. "Did you tell him?"

I merely shrugged, not wishing to speak about it. "Yeah."

He lifted an eyebrow. "And? What happened?" I just shook my head, pushing my hair away from my eyes. "That bad? I don't blame him. To know his most trusted general betrayed him must've been really hard."

_Is that how my father felt when he found out Howe betrayed him? Was it anger or sadness swallowing him? Howe was his good friend after all, _I thought. My father was not the only one. The whole castle… what did they think when they realized Howe invaded it? Did they even know?

A couple minutes later, Cailan came out of the hut, in his original armor. He did not speak a single word to any of us. Only Alistair spoke to him, and even then, Cailan barely spoke a sentence.

"We have a plan on how to deal with this," Alistair said. "Do you… want to hear it?"

"You have a plan?" Cailan asked, sounding a little bitter, yet surprised at the same time.

"You know about the Grey Warden treaties, right? Well, Grey Wardens can ask help from the dalish, mages, and dwarves during a Blight, and it seems we're definitely in one."

Cailan said nothing in return. Alistair and I exchanged looks. I did not have a very nice feeling about the way he was acting. I knew he felt betrayed… but something deeper was lurking inside of him. Looking up into the sky while closing his eyes for a long period of time, he whispered, "How are you sure we're _alive_?"


	5. Lothering

**A|N: So... of course naturally, Cailan has lost a bit of his confidence. I don't see why he wouldn't since he was so sure the battle would be won. But yes, onwards to Chapter 5!**

Cailan's words echoed through my mind. _How are you sure we're alive? _The king did not say anything else after that, continuing to follow us in despair. We decided it would be best if Cailan disguised himself by putting his helm over his head, for now. We were unsure if people would recognize him or not from the armor but Alistair and I thought it might avoid conflict. News did travel quite fast about the battle of Ostagar, unfortunately as the people on the bridge to Lothering, were blaming the king for the loss. They did not let us pass, claiming to be 'toll collectors' which led me to threaten them with my daggers. It was only then when I realized why Alistair wanted Cailan to disguise himself.

We finally left the bridge where we stopped before entering the tiny village. Alistair, who had been as quiet as Cailan, wanted to tell me something 'important'. "Well…" he started out. "I…"

Morrigan interrupted him. "Ah, so you have finally decided to rejoin us, have you? Falling on your blade in grief seemed like too much trouble, I take it?"

He turned to her sharply, almost ready to take out his sword. "Is my being so upset so hard to understand? Have you never lost someone important to you? Just what would you do if your mother died?"

"Before or after I stopped laughing?" she replied amusingly.

"Right. _Very creepy._ Forget I asked."

"Can't imagine why," Daveth added.

I truly did not wish to hear any more arguing. "You two, stop it. I don't feel like hearing you both argue," I snapped. "Now, what was it you wanted to tell me, Alistair?" I almost sounded like my mother, who would always say the same thing to Fergus and I when we argued as children.

Alistair acted surprised. "Oh. _That. _I forgot."

I crossed my arms, not impressed with his games. "You forgot."

"We should just continue," Cailan interrupted, his wistful blue eyes not targeting anyone. "I say we should skip Lothering. There really is not anything here for us."

Morrigan raised her eyebrows in question. "And why do that? I suggested Lothering for a reason."

"You'd be wise to watch your tongue, mage. Or perhaps I will send you to the Circle."

She rolled her eyes, the king's words no threat to her it seemed. "Oh, yes. The Circle! How frightening! Just because you are king, that does not mean you can do what you see fit. The Grey Wardens are in charge. You ought to be thankful for being saved."

"We know how hard this whole thing is on you," Alistair said, "but you need to understand -"

Cailan poked him in the shoulder, rather harshly. "I did not ask for your opinion," he told Alistair, angrily. "I have to deal with the whole country turning against me all because of Loghain's poisonous words."

I stood in between them, once more stopping an argument. Alistair was ready to pounce on Cailan but I pushed him back. "Stop it, Alistair."

"You're taking _his _side? The man who was raised as a spoiled little brat? Or rather a very _naïve_ one," Alistair growled. Cailan rolled his eyes, and kept looking forward.

"Funny, from someone who was basically raised by wolves."

"I like this man," Morrigan mused, but no one seemed to hear her over the argument except for me.

I pushed them both aside, and turned around, my back facing them. My brother had briefly popped into my mind. I wondered what happened to him during the Battle of Ostagar. "I would like to search for my brother," I said, making the whole group stop.

"But I thought he was scouting in the wilds," Alistair said. "That's what I was told, anyhow."

"Then attempting to look for him there would be foolish. He is either dead or managed to flee to the north," Morrigan told me.

I whirled around to face her. "Foolish? You think searching for someone I care about is foolish?" I snapped at her.

Alistair stared at her, shaking his head and her insensitive protest. "Very sensitive."

Morrigan simply shrugged it off; like it was nothing new or she just did not care. "I am simply saying that it is foolish to mount a rescue when you have no notion where this man is and the Wilds are overrun with dark spawn."

"We can try," I argued. "There is no harm in that."

Cailan, who had said nothing since his argument with Alistair, said, "I doubt he would want you to find him anyway."

"But -"

He cut me off, "Fergus most likely wants you safe."

They were right. Fergus might not forgive me if he ever knew I put myself in danger because of him. "Right," I said, nonchalantly. "Let's go then."

Alistair suggested we go to Dane's refuge to find out if anyone needed our help. Everything was normal at first. People were talking, eating and drinking at their respectable tables. It was not until five smug armed men, one man having silver armor, approached us. "Well. Look what we have here, men. I think we've just been blessed."

"Uh-oh. Loghain's men," Alistair muttered. "This can't be good."

The guard next to the silver armored man said, "Didn't we spend all morning asking about a woman by this very description? And everyone said they hadn't seen her?"

_Damnit._

The man, their 'leader', frowned at me. "It seems we were lied to."

Lied to? But they did not know who we were.

"I really think you should leave us in peace," Cailan said. "If you knew who I really am, I doubt you would even think about making another move."

The man snorted. "And who might you be then?"

Cailan took his helmet off, letting his blonde hair fall to his shoulders. "King Cailan," he retorted.

"What're you doing?!" I asked him.

Alistair frowned. "Yes… what _are_ you doing?"

The four men behind him backed away. "Maker's breath!" one of them exclaimed. "The king really is alive..."

"King or not, I don't care. Loghain said he's a traitor, like the Wardens."

Before anyone took their weapons out, a young, pale, orange haired young woman wearing a chantry uniform interrupted. She simply smiled, charmingly, at both groups. "Gentlemen, surely there is no need for such trouble. These are no doubt simply more poor souls seeking refuge," she said. I knew where her accent was from. Orlais. How interesting to find someone from there in Fereldan.

"They're more than that. Now stay out of our way, Sister. You protect these traitors, you'll get the same as them!" he drew his weapon.

I held my hands up. "Stop! Let's talk about this before things get out of hand."

"I doubt he would listen," the young woman said. "He blindly follows his master's commands."

"I am not the blind one! I served at Ostagar, where the teyrn saved us from the Grey Wardens' and the King's teachery! I serve him gladly!"

"What?" Cailan snapped. "You can't actually be serious enough to kill your king!"

The man ignored him. "Enough talk. Take the Warden and the king into custody. Kill the sister and anyone else that gets in your way."

With weapons intact, we fought them off, one by one. Cailan proved to be a capable warrior, as the sword he had in his hands were once his father's, from what I had heard from my own father. Cailan did not seem to hesitate killing them, nor mind having blood all over his face and armor. The young red haired woman finished one off, incapacitating one of them in no less than ten seconds which surprised me coming from a woman in the chantry fighting like that.

Their leader stopped suddenly, his weapons dropping with a _clang_ on the floor. "All right!" he screamed. "You've won! We surrender!"

"Good. They've learned their lesson, and we can all stop fighting, now," the red haired woman said.

I pushed the man back away from me. "Take a message to Loghain," I demanded in a voice I had not used in a long time.

"W-what do you want to tell him?"

"They Grey Wardens know what really happened."

"I'll… tell him. Right away. Now. Thank you!" he ran off like a coward with his tail in between his legs.

After he left, the woman turned to all of us, smiling. "I apologize for interfering, but I couldn't just sit by and not help," the woman told me.

"Do you have a name?" Cailan asked her.

"Let me introduce myself, Your Majesty. I am Leliana, one of the lay sisters of the chantry here in Lothering. Or I was."

I nodded. "I'm Elissa."

"Nice to meet you, Leliana."

"What a pretty fine lady," Daveth said. "Leliana… sounds really beautiful. Orlesian maybe?"

I pulled Daveth's ear. He let out a pathetic whelp. "You are not here to flirt with women, got it? And at any rate, I highly doubt she would be interested in you."

Leliana laughed. "It's fine, really. I take no offence."

"See?! She said-"

I pulled his ear back more. "Go take a cold bath."

She merely shook the whole thing off and went on as nothing happened. "Those men said you're a Grey Warden. You will be battling the darkspawn, yes? That is what Grey Wardens do? I know after what happened, you'll need all the help you can get. That's why I'm coming along."

"Oh…"

"Hmm? Something wrong?"

"I am not really sure…" I said.

Cailan went ahead of me, giving Leliana his hand. "You're from Orlais?" Cailan questioned, as Leliana accepted the shake.

"Yes, your Majesty, I am from there." Her expression went sour. "I heard about Ostagar, and I am really sorry about the losses. And that is why I want to help, to prevent more losses."

"I say she should come with us. What do you think?" The King turned to us, his charm still there but not as bright as when I first met him. His blue eyes hardened on me. I had a hard time trying to figure out how to say no to him. "Elissa?"

I nodded, without thinking. "It would be a pleasure to have you come with us."

Morrigan sighed, probably in disapproval. "Perhaps your skull was cracked worse more than mother thought."

"Oh, you are so funny."

"Who said I was trying to be funny?"

Leliana screeched like a little girl overexcited. I swore for a moment she would give me a hug, but luckily she did not. "Thank you! I appreciate being given this chance. I will not let you down."

I found it strange Cailan led the group. I understood he was king and all but… we never decided officially on the leader. As I walked beside Leliana while Morrigan and Alistair were behind Cailan, I noticed Leliana staring at me, and smiling at the same time. "Is there something on my face?" I asked her.

She giggled. "No. I find it funny."

"What's funny?"

"The man, who claims to be king, looks like he is trying to impress you," she giggled.

I pressed my index finger to my lips. "He might hear you," I muttered. "He also has a wife. Her name is Anora, you know, the daughter of Teyrn Loghain Mac Tir."

"Doesn't mean he will not find other women, such as yourself, attractive," she teased.

My eye began twitching uncontrollably. "This conversation has ended."

* * *

We chose a camp at last when we left Lothering. We had gathered a few supplies for tents. Alistair and Daveth left to gather firewood while Leliana bothered Morrigan by attempting to chat with her, amusing nevertheless. I was left to sit by myself, trying to think of where my brother might be, and for the countless number of times, prayed he was all right.

Cailan sat beside me, taking his helmet off at last. He pushed his sweaty hair back and sighed in relief. "What a long day." I didn't say anything, already having issues trying not to look when he took off his breastplate.

_"Doesn't mean he will not find other women such as yourself attractive," _Leliana had said. No way. He would never think that of me. The last he visited me was as a child, and he at fifteen. I was a tomboy who would climb trees, play with swords and boss the boys around. Anora bossed Cailan around mainly and sometimes Fergus. Still, she did become physically mature, considering how much older she was than me. Cailan thinking of me as attractive… it was weird, if not absurd. How in the world was I able to compete with Anora?

Simple, I would not.

"Elissa," Cailan whispered. My head snapped to his attention. "I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier today. I was rude and I did not thank you properly for saving me on the battlefield."

"No, Your Majesty. Don't thank me. It wasn't something to think about," I said. "Could you imagine the country without its king? We would spiral out of control."

"It already has. With Loghain spreading rumors of me betraying the army, I doubt anyone will ever trust me again."

"Why would anyone even believe him? Isn't it your word against his?"

"Everyone at the meeting before the battle is dead. No one survived, if any at all. Besides you, Alistair and Daveth. Loghain is still a powerful man and the way he worded the rumor probably has people thinking." He let out a deep, long sigh. "I just can't believe how stupid I was to…"

My hand found its way on his shoulder. "You didn't know. So how could it be your fault?"

"I was taught about Loghain and my father… how they met and what they went through. I sort of hoped I could have the same friendship. Instead, I get this. My father must be rolling in his grave," he said.

"Like I said, you can hardly blame yourself."

He did not seem to really react to my sympathy. "You're supposed to say that. I may not be liked, but I am still king."

"I am not saying it because you're king. I am telling you the truth. I know what betrayal is! My father was betrayed by Arl Howe, his good friend. Can you imagine how my father felt? Probably the same shock as you," I told him, removing my hand away from his shoulder.

"Right, I forgot you've been through almost the same thing," Cailan replied. He smiled genuinely, for the first time in a while. "I am glad we've had this talk. You're a good listener."

"It's no… no problem, Your M-Majesty," I stuttered.

"Please, just call me Cailan. Right now, my title as king no longer has any affect."

"Are you okay with that?"

"Not really, but do I have a choice? If I try to take back my title, people might try assassinating me."

"If my father were alive… he would be on your side just like I am."

Cailan nodded. "Your father was a good man, a man of honor." The words were true. My father… despite how hot headed we got with each other, was the greatest man I had ever known. There were good times we had but those memories seemed so very, very far away from me that I could not think about them. "Do you have any regrets?"

"A little bit," I said. "I just wanted to tell him I was sorry before leaving Highever. I was selfish and perhaps still am for wishing he was right beside me."

Cailan jerked his head down. "I know how you feel about that."

I did not say anymore for Alistair and Daveth returned to camp with logs in their arms. "Oh. Sorry for ruining this amazing party but, we have returned."

"If this were a party, Alistair, you would be the kill joy," Morrigan stated. Alistair stuck his tongue out at her.

_Maker. They are like two siblings arguing over pretty much… everything, _I thought. No… because if they were, then one or the two would already be dead. Daveth managed to get the fire going… mentioning something about having to when he travelled to Denerim. It was a nice change after all to sit by a warm fire instead of feeling the cold wind at my back.

"And tomorrow, we are heading to Redcliffe, yes?" Leliana inquired her hands in front of the fire.

"That is the plan," Cailan said. "As much as I don't want to go, though, it seems like my Uncle is the only option."

"Before we get into that," Alistair muttered. "Mind telling me why you revealed yourself at Dane's Refuge earlier today?"

"I wanted to. You are all risking your lives as much as I am. I felt like I owed it to you."

Alistair sighed. "Never mind that. Loghain knows, most likely, that you are alive. You know what that means?"

"My death?" Cailan shook his head. "I could've died at Ostagar but I did not."

Another argument stirring… Oh maker. "It doesn't matter. What's done is done. And right now, we all need rest for tomorrow," I said. "Perhaps, we should all sleep on it before arguing further."

"Yes. Someone should watch camp."

We all stared at him.

"Oh fine. I will."

* * *

Early in the morning, I travelled with Cailan, Alistair and Leliana to Redcliffe. Alistair, despite how tired he was from watching camp, acted quiet once again. From my perspective, it almost looked like he was thinking. Determined to get what he wanted to tell me out of him, I stopped him before we entered Redcliffe. "You want to tell us something," I said. "What is it?"

"How would you know if I wanted to tell you something?"

I grinned. "Woman's intuition."

"Fine. I'll tell you… Well, let's see." He clasped his hands together. "How do I tell you this? We're almost at Redcliffe. Did I say how I know Arl Eamon, exactly?"

"You have mentioned it," Cailan responded, arching an eyebrow.

"I think you said he raised you?"

Alistair gulped, taking a big breath before blurting out the next sentence. "I'm a bastard. My mother was a serving girl at Redcliffe castle and she died when I was born. Arl Eamon took me in and raised me before I was sent to the Chantry. The reason he did that… was because…" My stomach churned at what he was about to say next. Cailan, on the other hand, did not seem surprised by this news. "My father was King Maric. Which made Cailan… my half-brother, I suppose."


	6. Problems

**A|N: There isn't much Cailan/Elissa romance so far, right? I am trying to do this right and not mess it up. Trust me, when I say this. I just need there to be some tension**

* * *

Never in my life had I breathed in such dense air, since I last got into trouble with my father. When he was angry, I knew instantly I did something wrong. In this case, the tension between Alistair and Cailan became suddenly clear. Half-brothers. The king was somewhat disquiet, although did not look that surprised by Alistair's news. "What…" I said. I turned to him and suddenly asked him, "Did you know about it as well?"

He scowled, rubbing the back of his head and somewhat smiled at my question. "My father told me I had a half-brother when was younger. We even met as children."

Alistair shook his head, and shuddered, as if remembering something he did not want to. "And it did not go _very_ well." _Now I see why they don't get along, _I thought. If they added Morrigan in the mix, then it would be a battle.

"Doesn't that also make you the heir to the throne?" I asked.

"I –"

"No way," Cailan interrupted, his smile gone. "He will never be heir to the throne. At least, while I am alive." Alistair sent him a sinister glance and they both just stared at each other for a moment. An everlasting tension, I suppose, was forever between them. They would never truly be brothers. "Which will be for a very, very long time."

Alistair continued talking, despite the uncomfortable uneasiness between him and Cailan. "I would have told you, but… it never really meant anything to me. I was inconvenient, a possible threat to Cailan's rule." He eyed Cailan, who was not looking at him, and then back at me. "And so they kept me secret. I've never talked about it to anyone. Everyone who knew either resented me for it or they coddled me… even Duncan kept me out of the fighting because of it. I didn't want you to know, as long as possible. I'm sorry."

"That isn't your fault," Leliana told him. "You cannot help who your parents were."

"It's okay, Alistair," I said, "I understand."

Alistair let out a sigh of relief, as if the secret he carried was a he weight lifted from his shoulders. "Good. I'm glad. It's not like I got special treatment for it, anyhow."

"We should probably continue," Cailan urged us, leading us in front. He didn't bother waiting. He kept walking on.

"Arl Eamon eventually married a young woman from Orlais," Alistair said, while we were a bit far from Cailan so he could not hear us. "Despite all the problems, it caused with the king so soon after the war, he loved her a great deal. Anyway, the new arlessa resented the rumors which pegged me as the arl's bastard. They weren't true, but of course they existed. The arl didn't care, but she did. So off I was packed to the nearest monastery at age ten. Just as well. The arlessa made sure the castle wasn't a home to me by that point. She despised me."

"What an awful thing to do to a child." He didn't live a terrible life, but it wasn't like mine or Cailan's. He did not have servants, he did not live in a castle and he did not have parents.

He merely shrugged it off. "Maybe. She felt threatened by my presence, I can see that now. I can't say I blame her. She wondered if the rumors about me being Eamon's bastard were true." He scratched his arm and paused. "I remember I had an amulet with Andraste's holy symbol on it. The only thing I had of my mother's. I was so furious at being sent away, I tore it off and threw it at the wall and it shattered. Stupid, stupid thing to do. The arl came by the monastery a few times to see how I was, but I was stubborn. I hated it there and blamed him for everything… and eventually he just stopped coming."

"You were young. Everyone does stupid things when they were children."

"I was raised by dogs. Or I may as well have been, the way I acted. But maybe all young bastards act like that, I don't know. All I know is that the arl is a good man and well-loved by the people. He's also Cailan's uncle, so he has a personal motivation to see Loghain pay for what he did."  
_I can already see Cailan will do that, _I thought. Although Cailan did not like showing it, he was the real one who felt betrayed by Loghain. I really wanted to comfort him… but I was scared to say something. What if I made him angry? Or sad? I was not used to saying such words and if I did, they usually came out all messed up or stiff. Ugh.

We all stopped when a stranger approached us. He looked white as a ghost. "I… I thought I saw travelers coming down the road, though I scarcely believed it. Have you come to help us?"

There was no time to dilly dally around. We needed to find the arl as soon as possible but he would not move out of the way. "I'm on important business. I need to see Arl Eamon," I replied, my hands on my hips.

The frightened young man raised an orange haired eyebrow. "The arl? Then… you don't know? Has nobody out there heard?"

I understood he was scared, but I really did not feel like hearing some story about how Redcliffe is going to be in trouble unless I save it. I went through a near death experience in a battle, why would I do it again? I had more important things to do. "What?" I said, a little impatiently. "There's a civil war going on, if you haven't noticed."

He knew something we did not. He wasn't going to budge, so I decided to listen to what he had to say. "We heard the news about the king and all the fighting. That was before everything started here. We're under attack. Monsters came out of the castle every night and attack us until dawn. Everyone's been fighting… and dying. We've no army to defend us, no arl and no king to send us help. So many are dead, and those left are terrified they're next."

"No arl? What happened to Arl Eamon? What is going on?" asked Alistair.

The young man's face went from frightened to sad. "He's deathly ill… and we don't even know if he's still alive. We haven't heard from the castle in days." He looked to the castle, the empty town of Redcliffe and back to us, without saying anything else.

"He's sick?" Cailan said. "If he's sick, then why are there no doctors trying to cure him?"

"Because _none_ of them can. Believe me when I say, people have tried and none of them have ever returned. I should take you to Bann Teagan. He's all that's holding us together. He'll want to see you."

Cailan said nothing. I wondered if he wasn't on friendly terms with Teagan as well as Eamon, considering they were both his uncles. "Bann Teagan? Arl Eamon's brother? He's here?" Alistair said, surprised.

"Yes. It's not far, if you'll come with me."

There were not many people in Redcliffe and as presumed, they must have died from whatever creatures attacked them. If there was anyone left, then they were trying to gather supplies for an upcoming battle, a battle they know they would not win. I tried sneaking a glance at Cailan, but he would not look at me, and had said nothing since informed of his uncle's illness. We were led to a chantry, where tons of refugees… children, women and men, stayed. There were those who tried healing the injured and those who did not make it. I forced myself to not look at it.

I couldn't tell what he was thinking at that moment. Cailan did not strike me as a king who would not stand around and not do anything. Since the circumstances were vital, he did not seem to have much of a choice. Loghain had the power to turn everyone against him and the Grey Wardens in an instant.

The young man finally stopped to greet an older man. "It's Tomas, yes? And who are these people with you? They're obviously not simple travelers."

"No, my lord. They just arrived, and I thought you would want to see them"

Teagan patted Tomas on the shoulder. "Well done, Tomas. Greetings, friends. My name is Teagan, Bann of Rainesfere, brother to the arl."

"I remember you, Bann Teagan, though the last time we met I was a lot younger and… covered in mud."

Cailan snickered, with childish features on a man's face. "Not a surprise."

Alistair, in turn, shot him a glance. "Shut. Up," he snapped.

Teagan blinked, with a blank expression, and his eyes were overcome with joy. "Covered in mud? …Alistair? It is you, isn't it? You're alive! This is wonderful news."

"Still alive, yes, though I'm surprised about that as you are, believe me."

"Indeed. Loghain would have us all believe Grey Wardens died along with my nephew, amongst other things."

"I am alive," Cailan said, removing his helm.

Tomas seemed a little alarmed by Cailan's presence, but he did not say a word.

Teagan' jaw practically dropped. "Cailan? I… I didn't expect you to be alive. I heard you were dead. How did you…"

He drew a finger to his lips to shush Teagan. "This is not exactly a great time to tell you about what happened at Ostagar. Did you know what Loghain did on the battlefield?"

"I fear not. Although, you being alive is a good thing, Cailan and never forget it. I guess it is not much of a surprise I didn't hear about this sooner. News to Redcliffe has not been travelling as smoothly as one might think. Ever since Arl Eamon's illness, and the attack on the castle, things have been quite scarce around here. You'll have to tell me what happened, but later. Eamon is, as said before, is sick and we need to help him right away."

Cailan nodded. "I agree, uncle. We should set out for Redcliffe castle immediately."

"It isn't that easy." Teagan frowned, shaking his head and for a moment I thought he was about to cry, but he lifted his head and slightly gave us a smile on his thin lips. "Redcliffe needs to be defended or else all will be lost and I don't know if Eamon can be saved if we fail. No one has heard from the castles in days. No guards patrol the walls, and no one has responded to my shouts. The attacks started a few nights ago. Evil… things… surged from the castle. We drove them back, but many perished during the assault."

"What evil things are you talking about?" I inquired.

Burying his face into his hands, he said, "They hit again the next night. Each night they come, with greater numbers." He took his hands away and did not say a word after that. Cailan seemed like he didn't know what to do either and he was the one who was supposed to be king.

"We could help you," I offered, suddenly. Cailan and Alistair, at the same time, were stunned at my suggestion.

Teagan's face brightened, only a little. "Thank you! Thank you, this… means more to me than you can guess! Tomas, please tell Murlock what transpired. Then return to your post."

"Yes, my lord."

* * *

We decided to leave on short notice, to maybe have more of the party fighting at Redcliffe. I did not take in consideration that it would take a while to get there and back. We were trying to discuss battle strategies before leaving and I suppose we discussed it too much. I also thought, it wasn't a big deal if we a bit late fighting. Maker, was I wrong. I did not expect to see so many bodies of citizens all over a town before. Cailan, especially, was taken aback by the slaughter. He went off ahead to find Teagan in the chantry. I ran after him of course, with Leliana, Morrigan and Alistair trailing behind me.

The next thing I knew, I was staring at Teagan's corpse on the floor, along with everyone else… even children. Cailan did not move. He whirled towards me. "I thought you said we would be here in time for Redcliffe?" he asked. His tone jolted me a bit. "Well? I am waiting for an answer." I did not say anything. Cailan shook his head, as a result. He kneeled down beside Teagan, not as king, but as Teagan's nephew.

"This isn't exactly her fault," Alistair said.

"I wasn't talking to you," Cailan replied, coldly. "But she was the one who said she wanted to help Redcliffe."

For the first time, I wanted to cry. Even so, I did not. Crying in front of Cailan would prove how weak I was. I looked closely at Teagan for a moment, noticing he was actually breathing. "Teagan isn't dead," I whispered. "Alistair, do you still have some bandages?" Alistair nodded. He bandaged Teagan's wounds up, and slowly, began to regain consciousness.

"What… what happened? Where am I? Am I still in the village?" Teagan asked, dreamily.

"Yes, you're in Redcliffe. Or what's left of it."

He looked confused. "What's left of it? Where is everyone? Don't tell me…" He left the chantry immediately for outside. He would, unfortunately, be disappointed. "They're… they're gone. All of them." He turned to me, his face suddenly turning angry. "You abandoned us! Why would you leave us to this fate?"

I shook my head, ashamed of myself for even trying to think of an excuse. "I'm sorry… I was trying to prepare for battle by getting more members, but I guess we were late," I admitted. There was no point in not admitting what I did was a mistake. Cailan was already upset with me.

"No point in throwing blame, for all the good that will do," Teagan said. "You had other business to attend to, right?"

"Yes, we need to see Arl Eamon or, save him, perhaps." Would that be repentance enough? By saving Cailan's uncle from an illness that could potentially kill him? I hoped so. I didn't hold my breath, because I could fail saving Arl Eamon as well and have Cailan even angrier at me than he was. _Maker's breath. I am not made to be a leader, _I thought, as I felt my stomach twisting in a thousand knots.

"Right. Let's go to the windmill. I have something to show you." All anger aside, we followed him to the windmill on the cliff side. Before speaking to us directly, he surveyed the dead village. "Odd how quiet the castle looks from here. You would think there was nobody inside at all. But I shouldn't delay things further. I had a plan… to enter the castle after the village was secure." He turned to us. "There is a secret passage here, in the mill, accessible only to my family."

"Oh, I remember that," Cailan spoke up, at last. "Used to hide there all the time when I was younger."

"Secret passage? And you did not mention this before because?" I asked, a little upset Teagan got angry at me for leaving and did not bother having the villagers go inside the windmill to protect themselves.

"I don't owe you an explanation. I doubt you would have decided to stay and help if I had told you."

I was not about to allow him to think that everything was my fault because of a mistake, and the fact he thought I would not help if I had stayed made my blood boil. My father once told my brother and I if we ever felt like losing our tempers, to take a few breaths. I never took his advice until after he died. "Don't you dare assume anything about me, Teagan. I may have let you down this time, but that does not mean I am going to do it again."

He did not reply. Instead, his eyes shot wide open. "Maker's breath!" he exclaimed. From behind us, a woman and a guard were running towards us in a hurry.

"Teagan! Thank the Maker you yet live!" the woman cried.

"Isolde! You're alive! How did you…? What has happened?" Teagan wanted to know.

Like Leliana, the woman was definitely from Orlais. She had orange hair pulled back in a ponytail with some bangs falling on either side of her face. Her eyebrows caused creases on her forehead. "I do not have much time to explain! I slipped away from the castle as soon as I saw the battle was over, and I must return quickly. And I… need you to return with me, Teagan. Alone."

The way she worded that did not sound like something Teagan should follow through. "Careful, this could be an ambush," I suggested.

She looked at me, up and down. "Who is this woman, Teagan?" she spat, disgusted.

Cailan snorted. "Are you going to trust that, Teagan? Or like Eamon, are you always going to take her side?"

"What?" Isolde scrutinized him, and then her expression suddenly softened. "Y-Your Majesty. I… was not expecting you to be here."

"You remember me, Lady Isolde, don't you?" Alistair asked her.

Isolde raised an eyebrow, again in disgust. "Alistair? Of all the… Why are _you _doing here?" _Could she be the arlessa?_ I thought. She dressed the part, that much I was sure of and the way Alistair spoke about her definitely caught my attention. Isolde also spoke his name as if it were filth underneath her shoes. Ugh. The woman was already getting on my nerves.

"They are Grey Wardens, Isolde. I owe them my life," Teagan said.

"Pardon me, I… I would exchange pleasantries, but… considering the circumstances…"

"Please, Lady Isolde… we had no idea anyone was even alive within the castle. We must have some answers!"

She shivered. "I know you need more of an explanation, but I… don't know what is safe to tell," she said. "Teagan, there is a terrible evil within the castle. The dead waken and hunt the living. The mage responsible was caught, but still it continues. And I think… Connor is going mad. We have survived but he won't flee the castle. He has seen so much death! You must help him, Teagan! You are his uncle. You could reason with him. I do not know what else to do!"

"Connor?" Cailan asked. "This is worse than I expected."

"Why do I get the feeling you aren't telling us everything?" I asked her. It was the 'Connor is going mad' bit that got me thinking. A child did not go insane because of death. They would be more frightened, if anything.

"I… I beg your pardon! That's a rather impertinent accusation!" she snapped.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it."

She shook her head, looking a bit sorry for snapping. "N-no, it is I who should apologize. You are right to be suspicious… but I do not know what else to do! An evil I cannot fathom holds my son and husband hostage! I came for help! What more do you want from me?"

Teagan was beginning to see my suspicions as well. "But… I do not understand what you mean by this 'evil'. Did it create the walking corpse? What is it?"

"The others… were not so fortunate. It's killed so many, and turned their bodies into walking nightmares! Once it was done with the castle, it struck the village!"

"Please…" Cailan said to her. "Take me to my cousin as well. I want to try and reason with him as well."

Isolde shook her head violently. "No! It's… not a good idea, Your Majesty. He really is not himself."

"That probably isn't a wise idea," Teagan replied. "You are still technically king, Cailan, but we need you and my brother alive so you can focus on taking down Loghain. I will go with you."

"Oh, thank the Maker! Bless you, Teagan! Bless you!"

"Isolde, can you excuse us for a moment? We must confer in private before I return to the castle with you." He moved himself away from Isolde, and asked we follow him. "Here's what I propose: I go in with Isolde and you enter the castle using the secret passage. My signet ring unlocks the door. Perhaps I will… distract whatever evil is inside and increase your chance of getting unnoticed. What do you say?"

The idea was not terrible, but it was extremely risky. "What exactly am I supposed to do in there?"

"I wish I knew. I don't know any more about this 'evil forces' than Isolde seems to. The village is gone. There's nobody left to help us. If you choose not to go. I suppose it's up to me to do what I can. Whatever you do, Eamon is the priority here. If you gave to, just get him out of there. Isolde, me, and anyone else... we're expendable."

"I don't believe that," I said. "I will rescue you all; I promise."

"Redcliffe was lost without your help. Please, I beg you, don't abandon us now."

"Uncle, are you sure you don't want me going with you?" Cailan asked him, with worry across his face.

"I am very sure, Cailan. I cannot lose you or Eamon. Please, Warden, keep him safe as well."

"Yes, ser. You can count on me."

He then left to go with Lady Isolde.

We entered the windmill, finding the trap door underneath some boxes. "Let's be careful," Alistair said, before we went down the trap door.

"Pointing out the obvious," Morrigan muttered, bluntly, "yet again. Oh why are you in the Grey Wardens again?"

I shook my head. "He's right. Isolde said something about the dead killing the living. That obviously doesn't sound good."

"The dead killing the living," Cailan repeated. "Sounds like resurrection to me."

"Or blood magic," Alistair added, with anger.

"How would you even know if it was blood magic or not?" Leliana asked him.

"I almost became a Templar until I was recruited into the Grey Wardens."

"And what a fine Templar you would have been," Morrigan said, sarcastically, much to Alistair annoyance.

"Whoever caused it, will be punished," Cailan growled with such rage that it scared me a little. Loghain's betrayal hardened him too much. I wasn't sure if it was a good thing. "I am not going to allow them to get away with it."

There were strange, haunting noises in the basement followed by a scream, and it sounded human, and alive. At first, we were unsure what was going on until standing before us, a corpse rising and ready to attack along with a group behind. We raced into a fighting stance while the awakened corpses charged at us with murderous intent. I found decapitating them literally killed them.

The corpses had tried to attack a man in the jail cell. He was clearly a mage… the only mage in the dungeon. I knew instantly it was him who Isolde thought to have started the whole thing. Cailan brushed me aside. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Jowan. I'm a mage… and I was imprisoned here by Lady Isolde –-"

"You caused the dead to attack the castle? Why are you going down to such a low level?"

"I… No! I didn't do it! Lady Isolde only thought I did."

"Then what are you doing here?" I demanded. "Why were you in the castle to begin with?"

"Lady Isolde hired to tutor her son, Connor. Until they… ahh, threw me into the dungeon here," Jowan replied. He sighed. "I poisoned Arl Eamon, but that's all I did."

"You what?" Cailan said.

"I… know it looks suspicious, but I'm not responsible for the creatures and the killings in the castle. I was already imprisoned when all that began. At first Lady Isolde came here with her men demanding that I reverse what I'd done. I thought she meant my poisoning of the arl. That's the first I heard about the walking corpses. She thought I'd summoned a demon to torment her family and destroy Redcliffe."

"Even if you did not start it, you still did something awful," I said. "And it made matters a lot worse. You took someone's trust and you betrayed them."

Cailan suddenly looked at me with interest, but I kept going. "You may never be forgiven for poisoning Arl Eamon."

Jowan allowed his head to touch the cell bars. "I'd plead for mercy, but… I'm not sure I deserve it."

"You really don't," Cailan said. "With this treason, you could be executed."

That was when his eyes went to the ground in regret. "I… I was instructed by Teyrn Loghain."


	7. Connor

"What?" Cailan asked, with a tone that was shocked more than angry. He looked at Jowan with disbelief at the words. Cailan acted like someone jabbed him in the heart. "I…" He was actually at a loss for words.

"That shouldn't come to a surprise," I said to him. "Loghain is willing to do anything in order to get Fereldan to hate you. Loghain is not the man you once knew." It may have been a little harsh to say it like that. He needed to hear it nevertheless. Cailan shook his head.

"I know this castle off by heart. I will see what is going on" he said and began running off.

"Your Majesty -" I caught myself. I turned to the mage. "If I let you go, I do not want to see your face here again, understood? You'd be surprised at how harsh I can be." I unlocked the cell and did not wait for Jowan to leave, because I went after Cailan myself. He was letting his emotions get the best of him. _This is bad. I hope he he's okay. _Leaving the others behind, I found him in one of the rooms.

Cailan was sitting on the chair. "I don't get it. Everything seems to have fallen apart."

"Not _everything,_" I replied, eloquently. His blue eyes examined me. "What happened to your confidence? You were really confident in Ostagar."

"Yeah," he said, shaking his head. "Before we lost… which I knew was going to happen anyway."

_Kings are supposed to act confident for their people even in the darkest of times. _I remembered when Wynne, the elder mage, told me in Ostagar when discussing Cailan's foolishness, and she was right. It wasn't foolishness; it was an act to help raise people's confidence in winning the battle. "It's why I sent Alistair to the tower. In case something happened to me, then Fereldan would have a Theirin heir to the throne," he spoke, quietly. "Don't tell him I said that."

I bit my lip. That did make a lot of sense, but I wondered if perhaps, in a small way, Cailan sent Alistair to the tower because he cared as well? He would never admit that to me, let alone anyone else in the party. "I won't. We should really go."

"I guess."

"May I ask why you ran off?" Alistair asked, as the others finally caught up to us. None of them seemed to look amused with him. "Running off on your own is not very kingly- like." _Here we go again with the arguments. _

Cailan rolled his eyes. "I can do what I want. I am the king, you know."

Cailan ignored Alistair, and walked ahead of the group, but Alistair would not let it go. "You think because you are the king that you can do what you want? Did it ever occur to you that we are in a Blight as well as in a Civil war?" Alistair shook his head, and chuckled sarcastically. "No, of course you wouldn't. You're a spoiled naive brat."

He definitely hit a nerve, judging by the way Cailan stopped abruptly. Suddenly turning around, Cailan gave Alistair a whack on the cheek with his fists. Morrigan smiled, snarkly. Leliana stood in between the two of them, stopping them from mauling at each other. "Enough! We cannot afford to argue." Alistair backed away, rubbing the side of the cheek where he had been hit.

"Let's hurry," I said, "I don't think we have enough time."

* * *

By the time we arrived, Teagan and Isolde were there with Connor and some others only Teagan was not acting… himself. He did a strange dance, acting silly and all. Connor clapped, while Isolde's depressing expression worsened as it lingered on. Teagan eventually stopped as Connor noticed us walking into the room. Connor looked more than just off. Dark circles were under his eyes, indicating he did not get much sleep or something else was going on.

Connor grinned. "Ah, cousin! It has been a while, hasn't it?" he said. I watched Cailan from the corner of my eye. Remaining silent, Connor decided to continue. "Not going to speak? Is there something wrong? Cat got your tongue?"

"No, I am just pondering. Why is Teagan dancing about?" Cailan asked.

There was a slight, awkward pause between them.

"They are enjoying themselves, as should you, cousin." Something strange in the way Connor spoke… Sounded like someone else was also speaking in a deep voice. A demonic voice.

"You're acting rather… strange," Cailan stated, raising one of his eyebrows.

"How so, cousin? I am acting like I always have."

_The demon is there. I may be no mage, but I sense a terrible aura around Connor, _I thought and I needed to have Cailan away from Connor before something bad happened to him. "Cailan, it isn't him," I said. Cailan gave me a strange look and shook his head like he could not believe it.

"So these are our visitors?" Connor asked, turning to his mother. "The ones you told me about, Mother?"

Lady Isolde stuttered as she spoke, "Y-yes, Connor."

Connor eyed me. "And this is the one who was with Uncle Teagan? The one you met at my village?"

"Yes."

_Is she trying to set us up as well?_ I could not tell. It looked like she really did not have a choice but to tell him who we were. I had a feeling the demon may have Connor as a prisoner and do something awful to him as punishment. "And now it's staring at me!" Connor exclaimed. "What is it, Mother? I can't see it well enough?"

"This… this is a woman, Connor. Just as I am…"

"You lie!" Connor snapped. "This woman is nothing at all like you! Why, just look at her! Half your age and pretty too. I'm surprised you don't order her executed in a fit of jealousy!"

"C-Connor, I beg you, don't hurt anyone!" she pleaded, tears running down the sides of her cheeks.

Connor touched his forehead. "M-Mother? What's… what's happening? Where am I?" he asked. He changed. He went from demonic to… normal? Unless, it was the demon's way of messing around with Isolde's head.

"Connor?! Is that you?" she cried, almost touching him, but Connor backed away from her.

"Get away from me, fool woman!" He reverted back to the demon. "You are beginning to bore me."

Cailan turned to me. "What is going on with Connor? And why is Teagan…" He stopped speaking and paused, once again, his head turning my direction. "He's possessed, isn't he?"

"He is indeed," Morrigan said. "The demon attached to the boy is not going to let go of him willingly."

"Grey Warden… please don't hurt my son! He's not responsible for what he does!" she exclaimed.

Hurting a child was not an action I wanted to commit. How brutal… to kill a child? There had to be another way to help Connor. "I have no intention of hurting him," I told her.

"You would do that?" Cailan asked me, looking just as relieved as Isolde was.

I nodded.

But Connor was not pleased with what I said. "I wish I could say the same," he said, demonically. "Wait, no I don't."

"Connor didn't mean to do this! It was the mage, the one who poisoned Eamon - he started all of this! He summoned this demon! Connor was just trying to help his father."

"And made a deal with the demon to do so? Foolish child," Morrigan commented.

"It was a fair deal!" Connor declared. "Father is alive, just as I wanted. Now it's my turn to sit on the throne and send out armies to conquer the world! Nobody tells me what to do anymore!"

Teagan laughed abruptly. "Nobody tells him what to do! Nobody! Ha-ha!" he mocked. It was very clear Teagan had been manipulated by the demon somehow, and was no longer acting himself.

"Quiet, uncle. I warned you what would happen if you kept shouting didn't I?" He smiled to himself. "Yes, I did. But let's keep things civil. This woman will have the audience she seeks. Tell us, woman… what have you come here for?"

"I need to see Arl Eamon," I replied.

"But Father is so very ill. We shouldn't disturb him. Isn't that right, Mother?"

Isolde was about to crack at any given moment. She was too vulnerable to deal with any of the situation. "I… I don't think…"

"Of course you don't. Ever since you sent the knights away, you do nothing but deprive me of my fun. Frankly, it's getting dull. I crave excitement! I crave action! The village wasn't enough, and I'm bored now. I want more!" Connor ran off, after ordering his guards to attack us, Teagan included.

I was careful not to hurt Teagan, but the other men not so much. They were not the ones I was concerned about. I owed Teagan a favor, and a favor he would definitely get. I wanted to save Connor, Isolde, and Eamon as well. But the demon… it was getting in the way of everything. I just wished there was some way to rid of it.

After the short-lived fight, I helped Teagan up. Isolde immediately rushed to him, giving him a hug. "Teagan! Teagan, are you all right?!" she asked.

Teagan's reply was slow, yet at the sound of his voice, I knew he reverted back to his old self. "I am… better now, I think. My mind is my own again."

"Thank the Maker," I heard Cailan whisper.

"Blessed Andraste!" Isolde sobbed, not being able to hold in her tears any longer, she broke down on her knees. "I would never have forgiven myself had you died, not after I brought you here. What a fool I am." Teagan sat beside her, trying his best to comfort her but she was inconsolable. "Grey Warden, may I have… your name?"

"Elissa."

"Elissa, please… Connor's not responsible for this! There must be some way we can save him!" she begged.

"I am not about to kill a child," I replied. "I can promise you that."

"Oh can you?" Teagan asked. "You said that about Redcliffe but it was because of your decisions that everyone died. How do I know you'll save my nephew? Even if you save Eamon… this is a child we are talking about here."

I slammed my fist into my hand. "I told you already I am not going to hurt him."  
Cailan finally raised his hand. "Enough, uncle. I believe her," Cailan interrupted.

"Cailan? I thought you felt the same way about what she did," Teagan said.

"I did. But it isn't her fault. Besides, she is the one who saved me in Ostagar and she did save you, right?"

Teagan shrugged. "I don't know… yes. She did save me. I am sorry. This whole thing is taking its toll on me."

I took no offence to Teagan lashing out at me. I would've done the same in his situation. "It is on everyone," I reminded him. "Lady Isolde, why did you hire the mage exactly?"

"If they discovered Connor had magic, then they'd take him away! I thought if he learned just enough to hide it then…" she trailed off into more sobs.

"If you don't mind me saying, there is one way we can save Connor," Morrigan said. "Blood magic."

Alistair whirled around. "Blood magic? Are you insane?"

"I am not finished yet," she hissed. "I assume the demon approached Connor in the Fade while he dreamt and controls him from there. We can use the connection between them to find the demon."

Isolde stopped crying, wiping her tears away from her reddened cheeks. "You can enter the fade, then? And kill the demon without hurting my boy?"

"No, but I can enable another mage to do so. It normally requires lyrium and several mages, but there… is blood magic, as I have said before," Morrigan continued.

Isolde stood up and spoke in a clear and calm voice, "If there's a way, I must know it. Please tell us what you mean."

"Lyrium provides the power for the ritual. But I can take the power from someone's life energy. This ritual requires a lot of it, however. All of it, in fact.

Teagan screwed his face up in disgust. I did not blame him. The very idea of blood magic made me want to throw up. Why was Morrigan even suggesting it? She of all people should know blood magic was illegal and the main reason why mages were disliked in the first place. "So… someone must die? Someone must be sacrificed?"

"Yes, but the only problem is we need another mage to send into the Fade. I cannot enter because I'm doing the ritual."

"No," Cailan said. "We cannot have blood magic. I am not about to let my Uncle's wife be sacrificed. There has to be another way. A better way where both Isolde and Connor can live."

"We could go to the circle," I suggested. "Morrigan said we needed lyrium and a lot of mages. If we explain to them what has happened, then they can help Connor."

I felt a warm hand setting on my shoulder. Turning my head slightly, I saw Cailan smiling at me. "I agree with Elissa," Cailan said, and turned to the others. "What about the rest of you?"

"If it involves helping a child, I will do it," Leliana replied.

Alistair nodded as well. "Me too."

"Then we should go," Cailan announced. "Someone should stay here and watch the castle with Teagan and Isolde and make sure nothing happens to either of them."

"I will stay," Leliana stated.

"I will, too," Morrigan said. "I don't like the idea of going to the Circle and having them find out I am a mage."

"Looks like it's Alistair, Elissa and I then," Cailan said.

Isolde slightly gave us a smile. "Thank you so much, Your Highness. This means the world to me. Maker bless you."


	8. Awareness

**A|N: Fast update, right? I finished this recently and decided, well if I am going to update the 7th chapter why not the 8th? Also, this chapter was fun to write. xD**

* * *

"Do you guys really… walk the whole time?" Cailan asked Alistair and I, but it was more directed at Alistair. Watching as the annoyance on Alistair's face formed, I merely smiled and continued, because his naive personality made it funny. He was not used to walking so much. He probably used horses to travel. They Grey Wardens did not have time to find a horse range, hence why walking was really the only option and besides, we had to get to the tower immediately. If not, then I failed Teagan yet again, Isolde and also Eamon, who I have not known. And worse of all? I would've failed Cailan again. Seeing the disappointment on his face before stabbed my heart. I hate it. I hated the feeling.

To remember how I felt as a child, back when I practiced my sword skills. I definitely wanted to impress him. I wanted him to notice me… but the actions were in vain because he always had his eyes for Anora, the woman he would eventually marry. I did not hate Anora for it. She was a good friend of mine back then and I still treasured her friendship. I hated their relationship if anything. And so, I earned to continue to impress him one day. however, I stopped, demeaning the crush as foolish and after seeing Fergus with his wife and the way he acted around her, I could not stand it because I knew deep in my heart I could never have a relationship like that. _And what about now? _A voice inside my head asked me. Clutching my hands against my heart side, I realized I had no answer.

_Someday you will find a man who will be able to handle you, sister… _Fergus had said before he left on the night Howe attacked the castle. I did not believe him then, and as I was walking with Alistair and Cailan, I still did not believe him. Love was just not possible for me. I knew what I needed to do. Repress any past feelings for Cailan and not think of him in that way anymore.

I suddenly stumbled on a thought. I covered my mouth in order not to make a sound. _Do… I really… _The feelings, the warmth of my cheeks when Cailan complimented me or spoke to me… Did I… No. I refused to finish the sentence. There was no possible way. It just was not. Cailan seemed to notice my discomfort for he said, "Elissa, are you all right?" I looked away from the ground and nodded. He stopped, causing me to casually bump into him. We were literally facing each other, chest to chest. My heart fluttered and I took a step back to correct my actions.

"I… I am fine," I replied, rubbing my head in embarrassment. "It's all this walking that is making me a little tired is all."

"Maybe we should take a break then?" Cailan suggested. "I don't want to continue if you aren't up to traveling."

"No… no, Your Maje- Cailan… I am-"

_What has come over me? Am I really going to be like this around him for the rest of the time? I cannot handle this anymore… _My chest became tighter and tighter, as if I was wearing a corset that did not let me breathe properly. Alistair looked worried about me as well, and was willing to stop to give me a break, but in order not to act like a weak person, I refused. Stopping only meant less time for Connor and I made a promise to Teagan.

Cailan, relentless as ever, insisted we take a break before continuing. I finally gave in, and we set up camp. I was silent, when Alistair started the fire. I did not want to speak to anyone, especially not Cailan. I could not stop thinking about my thoughts before about… Him. No, even his name was hard for me to think, let alone speak out loud. Alistair fell asleep, leaving Cailan and I alone before the fire. My heart wanted to explode. _I cannot do this anymore. _Awkward, our eyes met. I turned away from him. "Is it something I did? Are you mad at me for being… rude?" Cailan asked.

"N-No. It's not that."

_Just go away._

"Do you miss your parents?"

I sighed; relieved he did not suspect anything else. "Yeah."

His hand touched mine and squeezed it. "I've been really awful that I have not considered your feelings at all. My father would not be impressed with me at all."

Confused, I asked him, "Why do you say that?"

"My father, like me, appreciated the Grey Wardens. If it weren't for him, they would still not be allowed in Fereldan. Then you or Alistair would not be Grey Wardens. I have been such a fool since Ostagar."

"Cailan, it's fine. I-"

He put a single finger on my lips to stop me from speaking. "That isn't the Elissa I know from childhood. You would've told me off in no time. You never had a polite streak in you."

I suddenly laughed, because he was absolutely right. If my parents had no passed away, I would have probably gotten mad at Cailan more than a few times. My temper used to be pretty awful, but it settled once I realized no one except could excuse my behavior. My father was usually the one protecting me from my own rudeness when meeting other guests. Since he was no longer with me, I would get into more trouble by being rude.

"You know what I said to the last guy that complimented me?" I asked.

Cailan continued looking at the fire. "What did you say?"

"Told him to soak his head."

Cailan burst out laughing. "You said that? Remind me to never compliment you then. I can't imagine what you might say to me."

I laughed too. "Back then maybe I might have said something similar, but now, not so much."

"So how did he react?"

"He was shocked to say the least. My mother definitely did not look impressed. Funny, because his mother did not even notice or she just did not want to comment. Then again, she did embarrass herself before by being drunk and told me to marry her son." Cailan added another laugh. I laughed too, because I was happy to see him laughing in such dire circumstances. "I guess it's better to go laughing, huh?"

He gleefully nodded. "I expect it is."

And despite the short-lived conversation with Cailan, we eventually went our way to the Circle. It was not a happy one. I tried, again, not allowing my previous thoughts to enter yet to no avail, I found myself still thinking about him. With his back to me, I was grateful not to be beside him otherwise I was sure to crack.

"There is no further entry into the tower," Knight-Commander Greagoir said for the last time before I was able to ask him why. "I'm sorry. These are my orders. Even if there is a Grey Warden in front of me, I cannot allow it."

Cailan stayed silent. Before we entered the tower, he promised not to reveal who he was anymore unless they recognized him but with the helmet on, most likely not. "I understand… but we really need to speak with First Enchanter Irving." Greagoir raised his eyebrows. "Did something happen to him?" The knight commander shook his grey haired head.

"We are dealing with a very delicate situation. You must leave, for your own safety," he said. "The mages are… indisposed. I shall speak plainly: the tower is no longer under our control."

"What exactly are we dealing with here?" Alistair asked.

"Abominations and demons stalk the tower's halls." _No. I can't just let him give me a no for an answer_, I thought, as I desperately tried finding another way around it_. _Cailan was counting on me because I made a promise to save Connor. It sort of made me realize I wanted to impress him a little too much. Then, I guess we had no choice but to go into the tower and save everyone. Easier said than done.

Setting my shoulders straight, I looked at Greagoir straight in the eyes, trying to find the same strength my father had when he spoke to someone. "Let us through. I am sure we can save the Circle. We are Grey Wardens after all." Greagoir did not stir at my words, instead he only shook his head as if I was lying or he saw right through me.

"You best hurry then," Greagoir said to me. "I would destroy the tower, raze it to the ground, but I cannot risk more of my men. The doors remain shut and they will protect us for now. I have sent word to Denerim, calling for reinforcements and the Right of Annulment."

Alistair's eyes enlarged. "Right of Annulment?" he said in disbelief, leaving me confused. "Are you serious?"

"What is the Right of Annulment?" I asked.

"The Right of Annulment gives Templars the authority to neutralize the mage Circle. Completely. The situation is dire. There is no alternative - everything in the tower must be destroyed so it can be made safe again."

That sounded dreadful… that also meant he would be killing innocent mages who most likely had nothing to do with the abominations. They really did not want to take chances in the Abominations possessing another mage… Then, Irving was in danger and would die as well. And I truly didn't want to choose the blood magic idea Morrigan gave us before. "I'll look for survivors," I offered.

"No one could have survived those monstrous creatures. It is too painful to hope for survivors and find… nothing. I assure you, an abomination is a force to be reckoned with, and you will face more than one."

I refused to give in. "I must try. It is the right thing to do."

Gregoir eventually nodded, a sign he would allow us to go through. "A word of caution… once you cross that threshold, there is no turning back. The great doors must remain barred. I will open them for no one until I have proof that it is safe. I will only believe it is over if the first enchanter stands before me and tells me it is so. If Irving has fallen… then the Circle is lost, and must be destroyed. May Andraste lend you her courage, whatever you decide."

We made it through passed the doors, and listened as they were shut behind us. Cailan pulled me aside, whispering, "Thank you, Elissa."

"It's fine."

But his hand was still gently around my wrist. "I mean it."

We were interrupted by a mage attacking an abomination or rather, preventing it from coming through the door. The magic she used successfully defeated the abominations, for now, at least. She spotted us, raised her eyebrows to protest when I realize the mage was Wynne from Ostagar. "Wynne?" I said. "Is that really you?"

Wynne squinted her eyes. "Elissa! The Grey Warden, right?"

"Yes! It's me. What are you doing here?" I asked, relieved she had survived that horrible battle.

Behind her were two young children and two older mages, a female and a male. The female looked a little younger than the man but definitely older than I. She was protecting them. "I returned to the Circle, and then… the abominations attacked the mages. I had no choice but to help them. But what about you? Why did the Templars let you in? Do they plan to attack the tower now?"

"You served in the battle of Ostagar?" Cailan asked her. "I remember seeing you."

"And who might you be?"

Cailan took his helmet off, his golden blonde hair falling on his shoulders. Wynne's jaw dropped, but she composed herself. "You know now," he replied. "I don't really need this stupid thing anymore." He let the helmet drop to the floor. "It's a long story. You may have heard I died, but I did not."

Looked like Wynne was not the only one who found Cailan attractive. Well, a lot of Fereldan women did. Her usual pale face turned slightly pink. "That… is quite all right. You need not explain. We have a crisis at our hands here and I do need help. But what of Greagoire? Has he made a decision yet?"

"The Right of Annulment has not arrived yet," I said.

"They sent for it, then. I feared they might have. What else could they do? So Greagoir thinks the Circle is beyond hope. He probably assumes we are all dead. They abandoned us to our fate, but even trapped as we are, we have survived. If they invoke the Right, however, we will not be able to stand against them." I could see it in her eyes. Despite the hardship of the battle, she was not about to give up anytime soon even at her old age.

What I wanted to know was what happened to the Circle that brought Abominations and demons to the Circle Tower of Magi. "Do you know anything about… what occurred here?"

"Let it suffice to say that we had something of a revolt on our hands, led by a mage named Uldred. When he returned from the battle at Ostagar, he tried to take over the Circle. As you see," she said, "it didn't work out as he had planned. I don't know what became of Uldred, but I am certain all this is his doing. I will not lose the Circle to one man's pride and stupidity."

"We have no choice then. We save the mages too," Cailan said. He looked over at me. "If it means to help Connor and my Uncle, then I will do it."

"Thank you kindly," Wynne replied. "I erected a barrier over the door leading to the rest of the tower, so nothing form inside could attack the children." She turned ever so slightly to the barrier covering the door way. "You will not be able to enter the tower as long as the barrier holds, but I will dispel it. Once Greagoir sees that we have made the tower safe, I trust he will tell his men to back down. He is not unreasonable."

"Greagoir will only accept it if the first enchanter says so."

"Then our path is laid out before us. We must save Irving," Wynne said.

"Petra, Kinnon… look after the others. I will be back soon."

"Wynne… are you all right? You were so badly hurt earlier. Maybe I could come along," Petra offered.

"You were hurt?" Cailan asked, looking a little concerned for the older mage.

Wynne smiled at him. "It's quite fine, young man. I will be all right." To Petra she said, "The others need your protection more. I will be all right. Stay here with them… keep them safe and calm."

To help them with their confidence, I added, "Have faith. We will not fail."

"Your confidence is refreshing," Wynne noted, as her smile began fading, "though you should make sure it does not blind you to your weaknesses." She turned to the barrier, raising her hand to it, and within seconds, the barrier suddenly disappeared. Wynne was right about that. I used to be too confident for my own good and it got me into tons of trouble in the past. I suppose the same might be said for Cailan as well.

"Be on your guard. Abominations are surrounding this place," Wynne warned us, while heading to the second floor, and of course as soon as we entered, there was an Abomination with some demons swarming about. Cailan kept his guard up completely, even more serious than he was at Ostagar. I admired that about him, even when what was said about him not taking his kingly duties seriously, I could see he actually did. I caught myself. _You're doing it again, Elissa, stop. _Cailan stood beside me, as he began attacking one of the Abominations.

Alistair shook his head. "You had to say that right as we finally arrived at the second floor?" he said, his sword stabbing one of the smaller demons.

"I guess I said it too soon," Wynne said.

"You think?"

Unfortunately, there were plenty more where that came from. The rooms were practically full of the demons. So much, I wondered if we would ever get to the final floor. My prayers were at last answered when we reached the final floor. Unusually… empty. Strange. Maybe Irving managed to destroy them? Those ideas vanished completely, as the group walked into the final room.

An Abomination had just finished killing a mage. It let the lifeless mage drop to the floor, and noticed us. I was about to grab my weapons, but somehow my body… was not moving at all. I noticed that Wynne, Cailan and Alistair were not taking out their weapons either.

Something was definitely wrong, and I knew it was the Abomination in front of me that was causing it. "Oh, look. Visitors," it began, "I'd entertain you but… too much effort involved."

I managed a cynical laugh. "Killing demons is enough entertainment for me, thanks."

"But why? Aren't you tired of all the violence in this world? I know I am. Wouldn't you like to just lay down and… forget about all this? Leave it all behind?"

_No. Don't listen… _I thought.

"What's happening?" Cailan asked. "Why isn't it attacking us?"

"Can't… keep eyes open. Someone… pinch… me," Alistair said, already being manipulated.

"Resist. You must resist, else we are all lost…" Wynne pleaded.

"Why do you fight? You deserved more… You deserve a rest. The world will go on without you."

I could not… no, would not allow the demon to stop me. My hand slowly but surely reached for one of my daggers. "No!" I cried. "I fight because…" The demon silenced me, placing its hand over my mouth, forcing my hand to fall completely limp. And with that, my eyes became heavy and before I could look to see if the others were feeling the same way, my body drifted to the floor.


	9. The Fade

**A|N: Been a while, eh? Well it's out now. xD**

At first, only darkness surrounded me. The area around me changed completely. I did not recognize it at all until I heard a voice I did recognize. My father. "Pup! What are you doing? We have a lot to do." I turned to my father who looked stern. "Your brother returned from Ostagar, a very successful battle I might add." I was confused. The place I was in… what was it?

Maybe I was delirious and dreamt about the whole thing… saving Cailan, meeting Alistair and Morrigan and witnessing my parent's death? _But… I did see it with my own eyes. I don't… _"Father?! You're supposed to be dead!" I cried.

My father dying in his own pool of blood was not a sight that could be unseen. I remembered everything. The man in front of me looked like my father, talked like my father and Maker, even acted like him as well. _This is a trick. It has to be. We fell into the fade._ "Come now, Elissa, you greet your father like this after he has returned from Ostagar?" I remembered the demon pulling everyone into Fade. Unable to stop it, I allowed myself to slip away.

I shook my head. "No! I won't believe it! I saw it with my own eyes. You were in the larder bleeding to death because Arl Howe betrayed you!"

My father arched a grey eyebrow. His cold hand went over my forehead. "Perhaps you should stay in bed a little longer. You sound a little feverish to me."

"No!" I exclaimed. "I am not sick, and you are not alive." It was a bit strange to see him… alive. Nightmare or not. I prevented tears from sliding down my cheeks, as I looked at my father straight in the face. _This is not the father I once knew. Something feels off. _My _real _father would lecture me for sleeping in.

He frowned. "Are you _really_ going talking back to your father?" Just like Connor, there was another voice a little deeper behind my father's. I was not in Highever. The demon I met before dragged me into the Fade, along with Alistair, Wynne and Cailan. _Damn. _

"I have had it with your games, demon!" I shouted, my hands shaking as I went for my daggers.

"What are -" he was about to say when my dagger stabbed him in the chest. Pulling the dagger out, he fell to the floor, dead. I quietly backed away from his body, shocked at what I did, yet knowing he was not my father at the same time. Father or not, he looked like him and I almost let my emotions overcome me. Holding in tears, I stepped over the corpse, spotting a pedestal near me. The pedestal seemed to have a map of where to go next.

I was still in the Fade, I was just in another location. _So this… is the Fade? _There were floating islands, almost like they were pieces of people's nightmares and a green-lit sky, making me miss the blue sky I never cared about. Looking down from the edge, I saw no end, just an eternal darkness that would swallow me whole if I fell in. My teacher never taught me about the Fade, I always thought it was merely a legend, but being in it forced me to realize the things I had been hidden from as a child.

I stumbled upon a man who looked as confused as me. "Who are you? Where did you come from? Are you a demon?" Examining me much more closely, he shook his head as if he had answered his own question. "No… I see you are not. You're like me. Congratulations on getting out of that trap."

"What about my companions, are they trapped too?" I probed.

"You came here with others? Then yes, they would be trapped," he replied, sullenly. "The demon traps everything that comes here in a dream it thinks they can't - or won't - try to leave. I thought I'd escape, too, but I've been wandering these empty , grey spaces for a lifetime."

_A life time? _Thinking about staying in the Fade forever made me panic a little. "How did you end up here?"

"Through sheer stupidity or perhaps very, very bad luck. My name is Niall, by the way. I was trying to save the Circle when I encountered the sloth demon. I expect our experiences were similar." Niall shook his head, disappointment spreading across his face. "The Litany was our weapon against the blood mage's domination. But it's too late. Everyone's dead…"

I was confused I thought the demons were the ones who were trying to take over the Circle. "The blood mage's domination?"

"They can get into your mind and take control of your body. You can't stop what they make you do… but the Litany protects against that. The Litany was our only hope of saving the Circle. This place drains you of everything… hope, feeling, life…"

"It's not too late, I'm sure," I told him.

Niall, again, shook his head. "No, there is no way out of here. You think there might be, but you'd be wrong."

I put both of my hands on his shoulders, looking at him straight in the eyes. "Niall, I have been through too much hell to even stop. I cannot afford to give up because I am in the Fade."

"What makes you think you will find a way?"

"We got inside the Fade, didn't we? There's obviously a way out. There _has _to be."

He sighed. "You see that pedestal there? I've studied the runes on it – runes that signify the different islands of the sloth demon's domain. The sloth demon itself is on the center island, but you can't get there. The five islands around the center somehow form a protective ward. I thought I was getting somewhere when I figured that out, and I went to each island in turn to have my hopes dashed. There's always an obstacle. You'll see the path but be unable to get to it." He sank to his knees, holding his head. His voice began cracking as I detected a hint of insanity in him. "It taunts you, and drives you mad."

_If the pedestal can lead me a way out… _I thought, _then it may lead me to get to the others as well. _"I'm going to the pedestal," I said.

"You think you'll find a way out, don't you? You believe that." Niall added a chuckle. "Maker… I believed it too. It seems eons ago."

I ignored him as I approached the pedestal I came out of. _Where are the others? _I pondered. Or, maybe I had to get something first before finding them. I did not know which one to go to, so I randomly picked an island, and I disappeared. Before me, I saw a man running away from demons trying to kill him. I was surprised to see another person in the same place, thinking it was rare.

Stepping into the fight, I defended the man before I realize it was too late, he had disappeared. Just as I finished them off, I tried looking for him until I looked down, spotting a mouse speaking to me in a weak voice, "Thank you! But… too late for me. Kill Yevana, the demoness that rules here. She protects her master… Sloth. There's a door! A door only demons can see… the key must be in another realm… take my power… Save any others trapped in nightmares, kill the demons that guard Sloth. Make my…" he did not continue his sentenced, and collapsed to the ground.  
I used the shape shift ability the mouse gave me, and suddenly, everything around me became a lot bigger. _I could use those holes to get through, _I thought. I crawled into the hole, eventually making my way back to Niall. Changing back into my human form caused me to feel a little dizzy.

"Something happened, didn't it? You look a little different. What happened?"

"I… became a mouse."

"Did you? Did it help? I know I saw the tiny holes. Were you small enough to get through?"

His attitude changed easily. Very strange. "I thought you'd given up. Why so excited?" I asked him.

Nial just shook his head. "I… I don't know. You're… so much braver than I am. I was so sure it was impossible to get anywhere… Do you think you could learn other shapes? Maybe they could help you get to places you couldn't otherwise."

"Maybe," I replied, seeing he had a point. "I will have to find out for myself. Unless, you want to come with me?"

"No. Sorry. I can't," Niall said. He managed a slight smile. "…be careful."

"Thanks."

"I didn't quite catch your name," he added before I left.

Turning around, catching a glimpse of his previous fear reversing to something else in his eyes. "Elissa."

"Good luck, Elissa."

* * *

I ended up in a completely different place from before. This time, it resembled the inside of a castle. Some parts in the hall contained darkspawn, and had to be careful. The halls were like a maze; I kept finding the doors leading to other rooms were locked. Troubled, I wondered if I would ever make it out of the Fade. _What are the others going through right now? _I thought, drowning in my own pessimism. If I did not find anyone, especially Cailan then….

"Get away from me!" I heard a voice from an upcoming room.

Curious, I checked it out. A warrior was surrounded by darkspawn, holding his sword while shaking uncontrollably. He saw me standing at the door and shouted, "Please! Help me!" The darkspawn turned their attention from him to me.

Oddly, the darkspawn easily fell before me. _They aren't real but they damn well look it. _The warrior, still shaken up, said, "They're gone. You… You did it. You killed them. But not all, their leaders are behind the unbreakable door. I give you my wisdom, it will let you see. And now I wake…" He, like Mouse, disappeared into thin air, and I was left in an empty room with darkspawn corpses.

The pedestal appeared once more. The next thing I knew, I was taken somewhere else. Again, I was in another castle-like building, recognizably like the one in Denerim as my father travelled there quite a bit, even taking the my family one time. In the halls, I saw Cailan in his usual armor speaking with Loghain. W_ait. _I examined them closely, peering from the corner. It was Loghain in armor… not Cailan. _Another weird nightmare… _"Your Majesty, I am terribly sorry for my lateness." Cailan bowed to him, respectively.

Loghain scoffed, "You always say that. You should know who is king here. Me. Not you."

For the first time, I saw him without his confidence. Instead, he was another person without a backbone. He was letting the nightmares getting the better of him. I waited patiently to make my move, and watched their conversation closely. _What are you doing, Cailan? Are you going to let him win? _

"But I-"

"No more excuses!" Loghain snapped. "I've had enough of this."

"Stop!" I shouted, intervening before his guards took Cailan away. "Cailan, you are the king. Not Loghain!"

"You're mistaken," Cailan replied. "I'm not king. And who are you?"

"Elissa Cousland. Remember?"

"No," Loghain said, stepping in front of him. "He does not remember you. In fact, he doesn't even know who _you _are."

I continued on in spite of 'Loghain's' objections. "My father was Bryce Cousland. You would visit with your father sometimes as a child. You and my brother would often fight or duel each other. Come on, Cailan! Remember! We're in the Fade and this 'Loghain' is a demon."

He closed his eyes, rubbing his temple, as if trying to remember. "A demon…" Cailan muttered. "The Fade? I -"

Both of my hands touched Cailan's shoulders. I stared at him straight in the eyes. "I cannot afford to lose you. You're the king of Fereldan and Loghain is a traitor who backed out on the battle of Ostagar, almost killing you. You had a pact to see him punished."

Cailan shook his head, confused. I watched as he battled for a moment whether to believe me, or the demon pretending to be Loghain. "Elissa…" he said. "I think I remember. You're right. This is the Fade."

"No!" the demon growled. "You cannot have him!"

The demon charged at me. Not before I was pushed to the side by Cailan. "Are you insane?! I could have handled it myself" I shouted at him, while I tried making my move on the demon. Cailan didn't say anything, only chuckled at my brief anger. "What are you laughing about?!"

After finishing off the demon, Cailan turned to me and said, "Nothing. You have saved me quite a few times so I thought I would do something for you in return."

"Oh. Thanks," I said, awkwardly. _I thought this awkwardness was a phase?! _

Cailan began fading all of a sudden before he said anything more. "Hold on… where am I being taken to?!"

"Cailan!" I shouted. He disappeared completely, which made me more worried. I would have to ask Niall where he went off to when I had the chance, that's if he even knew. _The Fade is no something to take lightly. These demons are not playing games like children. They are real threats._

I returned back to Niall, who stayed in the same spot as before but looked even more bored. He smiled a little at me. "You're back. How did it go?"

"I was able to save one companion but he disappeared. Do you know where he went?"

"He's probably in the real world right now or he is somewhere else in the Fade. Did you defeat the demon manipulating him?"

"Yes."

"Then he's there no doubt."

"Thanks. And I should get going to save my other two companions."

_There is no way in hell this demon is going to win. _I was a Cousland after all, and a Cousland never, ever gives up no matter how hard or stressful the situation. _The demon will get a taste of its own medicine when I find him. _


End file.
